Solar eclipse draws crowds across Norway despite mixed weather

A partial solar eclipse covered much of Norway on Wednesday evening, with between 81 and 90 percent of the Sun obscured by the Moon depending on location, NRK reported. It was the largest solar eclipse visible from Norway since 2015, and the next one of a similar size is not expected until 2039.

Stavanger had clear blue skies, bringing large crowds to Byhaugen to watch the eclipse. Marit Alfsvåg, who was unable to obtain eclipse glasses, made a viewing device from a shoebox, a white sheet of paper and aluminium foil.

Leif Magne Svendsen, observation leader at the Stavanger Astronomical Society, modified his camera by attaching a lens from a pair of eclipse glasses to the camera lens.

Conditions were also fairly good in Tønsberg, where the Wetting family travelled from Drammen. Edvard Otto Wetting said he had not known about the eclipse until dinner and was seeing one for the first time, together with his older sister Mari.

Clouds over Alesund

In Alesund, the country’s best-known astrophysicist, Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard, encountered grey skies and drizzle after arriving at the airport. He had hoped to watch the eclipsed Sun sink towards the sea and create a changing display of colours.

Røed Ødegaard had earlier given a lecture to several hundred people at Atlanterhavsparken, an aquarium in Alesund. Although clouds remained, the rain eased and people gathered outside to watch the eclipse.

He said the eclipse could still be visible through thin clouds. If the sky did not clear, viewers would at least see it becoming darker.

Viewing times varied across Norway

The partial phase began at 18:29 in Longyearbyen and at 18:43 in Hammerfest and Vadsø. In Oslo, it started at 19:03, reached its maximum at 19:57 and ended at 20:49. In Stavanger, the corresponding times were 19:04, 20:00 and 20:52.

In Tromsø, the eclipse lasted from 18:45 to 20:32, while in Bodø it ran from 18:49 to 20:37. In Trondheim, it began at 18:56, peaked at 19:51 and ended at 20:44.

Warnings about eye damage

Looking directly at the Sun can damage the eyes. People without eclipse glasses could use a safe homemade viewing arrangement, including one made with a shoebox, paper and aluminium foil.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers the entire Sun. During a partial eclipse, only part of the Sun is covered. The eclipse was total in Spain, Iceland and Greenland.