Trinity College Dublin: Astrophysicists bring partial solar eclipse to Irish public

Astrophysicists are bringing the partial annual solar eclipse to the Irish public via a freely accessible livestream between 10 am and 11:30 am tomorrow – Thursday 10th June 2021 – when the eclipse will be at its most visible.

The event is organised and hosted by the AstroLands Team at I-LOFAR – an initiative of Trinity College Dublin, supported by Science Foundation Ireland and ESERO Ireland – and DIAS Dunsink Observatory.

There will be solar telescopes with cameras set up at both locations and you can join leading researchers live on YouTube for the watch party, which will showcase a close-up of the Sun so we can see the eclipse as it happens.


Host Áine Flood (I-LOFAR Education & Public Engagement Manager, Trinity) will be chatting with some of Ireland’s leading solar physics researchers, including Professor Peter Gallagher (DIAS, and an adjunct professor at Trinity) and Aoife Maria Ryan (PhD Researcher from Trinity and DIAS).

Aoife Ryan said:

“This is a great example of the Earth’s relationship with the Sun and Moon, and how much of an impact the Sun can have on us here on Earth. Observing eclipses – even partial eclipses like this one – gives us such a unique opportunity to see parts of the Sun in more detail and learn more about its activity.

“We can observe the Sun with optical telescopes but also with radio telescopes like I-LOFAR to get lots more information about what’s going on!”