13/08/2026
🌞 What a day! What a turnout! 🔭
We’re still trying to get our heads around just how many people came along to see yesterday’s partial Solar Eclipse from Cliddesden!
Hundreds of people joined us, turning what we expected to be a small local observing event into something on a completely different scale. Our usual events and meetings might attract 20–30 people, so seeing the field fill up with families, astronomy enthusiasts and curious eclipse-watchers was absolutely incredible.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came along, queued patiently and shared the experience with us. We hope you enjoyed seeing the eclipse through the different solar telescopes and learning a little more about our nearest star. ☀️🔭
And an enormous thank you to our brilliant BAS volunteers, who worked tirelessly throughout the event, helping people safely view the Sun through our solar scopes, answering questions and handing out the solar viewing glasses we had available.
We had prepared for around 100 visitors and brought 100 pairs of free solar glasses with us. The response was far beyond anything we had anticipated! It was wonderful to see so much interest in astronomy, even if it did leave our small team rather busier than expected. 😅
Events like this are exactly why we love what we do. Seeing so many people of all ages taking an interest in the sky and wanting to experience an astronomical event together was fantastic.
🌌 Enjoyed the eclipse and want to discover more?
Why not come and join Basingstoke Astronomical Society?
We’re a friendly society for everyone from complete beginners to experienced astronomers, with regular meetings, observing sessions, astrophotography and plenty of opportunities to learn more about the night sky.
Find out more about BAS and becoming a member here:
https://www.basingstokeas.org.uk/about-us/membership
Thank you, Basingstoke! ❤️
We’ll be sharing more photos and videos from the evening over the coming days.
Clear skies! 🌌
Basingstoke Gazette
