Astronomer travels to Greenland for solar eclipse

A self-proclaimed "eclipse-chaser" is set to observe the solar eclipse from one of the "coolest" places on earth.

Mike Frost is an astronomer and past chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society (CWAS) and will see the event later from Scoresby Sund, a fjord system in Greenland.

It is the first major eclipse the northern hemisphere will get a good view of, since 1999.

"I can see icebergs in the distance, but the prospects aren't fantastic, but we hold hope we can find a hole in the clouds," said Frost.

However, Frost said he was unlikely to see the moon cover the face of the sun in its entirety from where he is.

According to the Met Office, the weather in Scoresby Sund will be cloudy with a maximum temperature of 8C.

"It's total over the eastern side of Greenland, total over Reykjavik and total over Spain, but it's not total from anywhere in the UK. But almost everywhere sees a deep, partial eclipse," Frost added.

Members of CWAS will be setting up telescopes in Broadgate in Coventry city centre to make their observations.

This will be the biggest coverage of the sun by the moon since 1999, when people in Devon and Cornwall got to see it, but the rest of the UK was affected by cloud, ruining observations for millions.

According to the Natural History Museum, there are between two and five eclipses globally every year, but a total eclipse occurs once every 18 months.

Your ability to see it depends on the path the moon takes in its orbit of the earth - if you are on the path, then the coverage of the sun is likely to be greater than in other places.

Apart from Broadgate in Coventry, where the CWAS will have astronomers on hand to explain what is happening to members of the public, there will also be gathering at Wolfords village Hall in Shipston-on-Stour, organised by the Chipping Norton Amateur Astronomy Group.

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