The phenomenon occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. The three are not completely aligned, so only part of the Sun is obscured.
The eclipse peaked in London at around 11am on Saturday and was visible in parts of the country from between around 10am and noon.
Astronomer Imo Bell, at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said at 11.15am: “There’s been nothing unexpected, but that’s the cool thing, we’ve known this has been coming for a very long time.
“We have the technology and the understanding of space now to predict these things almost to the second.
“I, along with thousands of people, are watching. I’m in Oxford right now, we reached a bit more than 30% obscurity of the Sun.
“I’ve heard a lot of people in the UK where they have higher obscurity have bad cloud coverage, though. If you’ve got good weather, you’re pretty lucky.”
Everyday household items came in handy for many people watching the eclipse, with experts warning not to look at the Sun directly to avoid eye damage.
The Met Office said earlier on Saturday that southern and eastern areas of the UK would have the best viewing conditions, with cloudier skies in the north and west
The next partial solar eclipse visible in the UK will be in August 2026, which is expected to reach 90% obscurity
