{"id":163387,"date":"2026-08-11T05:19:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/163387\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T05:19:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:19:39","slug":"day-turned-into-dusk-in-1999-total-solar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/163387\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Day turned into dusk’ in 1999 total solar eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the countdown begins to a partial solar eclipse, people have been sharing memories of the total eclipse in 1999 in parts of the South West and Channel Islands.<\/p>\n

On 11 August 1999 a few minutes of the day turned to night as the Moon blocked out the sun’s light.<\/p>\n

It was the last total solar eclipse<\/a> of the 20th Century, with only Cornwall and the Channel Islands the only parts of the British Isles to witness totality, the full blacking out of the sun by the Moon.<\/p>\n

Barbara Logan, who watched the eclipse in Shortlanesend, near Truro, said the experience was a “weird sensation”.<\/p>\n

\"Barbara<\/p>\n

Barbara Logan said it was strange not to know if it was day or night during the 1999 eclipse [BBC]<\/p>\n

In Devon and Cornwall, the partial solar eclipse will start at about 18:18, peak at 19:15 and finish at about 20:09.<\/p>\n

In Guernsey and Jersey the timings will be about 18:21, 19:17 and 20:10.<\/p>\n

Recalling the 1999 eclipse in Cornwall, Logan said: “One minute it was light then it began to get dark and I could hear all the birds singing and getting ready to go to roost.<\/p>\n

“We were all gathered down in the square with our glasses ready.<\/p>\n

“It was a weird feeling, you didn’t know if it was night-time or daytime.”<\/p>\n

\"Nigel<\/p>\n

Nigel Brown said he had been aware “something really big was happening” [BBC]<\/p>\n

Nigel Brown, from Horsham, who was visiting Truro for the day, said the eclipse in 1999 had felt peculiar.<\/p>\n

“Once the eclipse started it was a wonderful but really eerie experience,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I couldn’t believe how day turned into dusk and the birds stopped making a noise.<\/p>\n

“I was on my own and I didn’t feel frightened, but you were aware something really big was happening.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

More than 250 astronomers gathered in Alderney to watch and photograph the eclipse [PA Media]<\/p>\n

Anne Le Cheminant said hundreds of people lined the seafront in St Peter Port, Guernsey, to watch the total eclipse.<\/p>\n

“I’m still quite emotional about it, it was just such a gigantic, awesome event,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It was eerie, it was very strange, you can imagine the ancients had a supernatural feel about it.<\/p>\n

“The light wasn’t quite the same as evening lights, it was very grey.<\/p>\n

“All the birds flew around and went back to their nests.<\/p>\n

“As the Moon cleared the sun, you could feel the collective awe of everyone watching it.”<\/p>\n

‘Temperature dropped sharply’<\/p>\n

Former BBC News correspondent Simon Hall reported from Alderney during the 1999 eclipse.<\/p>\n

The third-largest Channel Island had some of the best views of the eclipse<\/a> in the British Isles, despite some cloud cover.<\/p>\n

More than 250 astronomers had gathered with islanders to watch the event.<\/p>\n

Hall said: “Eclipse day in Alderney was a tease.<\/p>\n

“From the start there was cloud and uncertainty about what we would see.”<\/p>\n

He said the first half of the event was obscured by cloud which had helped to reduce the sun’s dazzle.<\/p>\n

“At 11:00 the temperature dropped sharply when totality was approaching,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The odds had been 50\/50 but at 11:16, the moment of totality, the cloud cleared.”<\/p>\n

The UK’s next total solar eclipse will not happen until 2090, according to Royal Museums Greenwich<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow BBC Cornwall on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. Follow BBC Devon on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk<\/a>. Follow BBC Guernsey on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. Follow BBC Jersey on X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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