People across Czechia observed a partial solar eclipse, next similar event in 50 years

People across the Czech Republic were able to observe a particularly striking partial solar eclipse yesterday evening. The rare astronomical event was accompanied by clear skies and strong public interest. The Moon began covering the Sun shortly after 7:18 p.m., with the eclipse reaching its maximum phase less than an hour later, at around 8:11 p.m. In western and southern Bohemia, the Moon covered more than 85 percent of the solar disk at that point. In the eastern parts of the country, however, the Sun had already set before the eclipse reached its maximum.

According to astronomers, yesterday’s eclipse was the largest visible from the Czech Republic since August 11, 1999. The Czech lands will not experience a total solar eclipse until 2135. The next partial eclipse of comparable magnitude will occur in nearly 50 years, in 2075.