The closest to a complete solar eclipse most of us are ever likely to see will occur at sunset on Wednesday, August 12th. A total eclipse of the sun will miss Ireland by only a couple of hundred kilometres, and will be fully visible in parts of Portugal and northern Spain. However, for Ireland, it will be the next best thing, with 93 per cent coverage in the north and up to 98 per cent coverage in the extreme southwest. These percentages are similar to the much-anticipated eclipse of August 1999, when Dublin skywatchers got the best of the weather and the sun, obscured by the moon, turned into a bright crescent.Where to get the best views of the eclipseThere is good news and bad news for skywatchers about Wednesday evening, depending on where you live. The best place to see the eclipse will probably be in the southeast, Wicklow, Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow. Next best is likely to be east Leinster including Dublin, Meath and Louth, says Met Éireann chief forecaster Andrew Doran-Sherlock. “I’d be reticent to give you a categorical number, but I’d say there is a high enough probability of seeing the eclipse for the southeast. I think there’s still a good chance for Dublin,” he says. The southwest could also, weather permitting, offer a striking view, with just a tiny sliver of sunlight set to remain mid-eclipse. The ideal location to view could be the Blasket Islands, looking out to sea to a clear horizon where the sun will be almost completely eclipsed. The more pronounced darkening of the sky will probably cause some street lights to automatically switch on, while birds will start to roost early. However, those living in Cork and Kerry might need to put out the Child of Prague, the harbinger of good weather, as the forecast is uncertain for the southwestern corner of the country. “It’s not looking as good there,” says Doran-Sherlock. “East Cork might have a better chance than west Cork ... but there is still a fair amount of doubt. “There will be some sunny spells, but trying to say categorically they will coincide with the timing of the eclipse is difficult. There’s no guarantees.” The north and northwest, which will experience the eclipse a few minutes before the rest of the island, has an even lower chance of being cloud-free, but Doran-Sherlock says there is a possibility people across the country will get a glimpse of the eclipse through the clouds and there may be clear spells.Eclipse timings in IrelandThe partial solar eclipse will begin between 6.09pm in the north and a bit later the farther south you go. Mid-eclipse will be between 7.07pm and 7.13pm and will end just after 8pm across the island. By mid-eclipse the sky will appear darker than expected but light levels will still be generally equivalent to a heavily overcast winter’s day, or 10-20 minutes before sunset on a clear evening. The sun’s low altitude at this time may alter expectations, though.A reasonably clear western skyline would allow you to watch the proceedings as the sun starts to get low. The sun will be about 15 per cent above the horizon during the eclipse, an angle that could mean it is obscured by tall trees or buildings, so a clear western horizon will be essential. Changes in the ambient light level will only become apparent when the sun is nearly 80 per cent obscured. That is often experienced as an abrupt drop in brightness as our eyes compensate for changing light levels in a logarithmic way rather than linearly.As the eclipse deepens, your surrounds can take on a strange hue, as if colour is being bled from the landscape. This transformation happens as our eyes shift from daylight/colour perception towards night/monochrome vision. Viewing eventsSeveral astronomy clubs and facilities countrywide have co-ordinated eclipse-viewing events with the details listed on their respective websites. Dunsink Observatory sold all tickets for its event in four minutes and has a waiting list of 700. While the public gathers there, its director, Prof Peter Gallagher, will be on a scientific mission to film the eclipse on its path off the west coast of Ireland. Researchers from Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) will fly an advanced solar telescope (E-CorMag) aboard an Irish Air Corps Airbus C295 aircraft to study the Sun’s atmosphere during the total solar eclipse. Scientists do not understand why the corona, the outer layer of the sun, is so hot. They could study it by launching a satellite costing €500 million. The cheaper alternative is to look at it from an aircraft mid-eclipse. “It’s a real life experience to go and do something like this,” says Gallagher, who will be on the plane. The mission faces a dilemma. The best place to see the eclipse is farther north towards Greenland and Iceland, where the sun will be highest in the sky and where the total eclipse will be the longest - two minutes and 18 seconds off the coast of Iceland. Unfortunately, it’s also the place along the eclipse path with the greatest chance of cloud. In order to film the eclipse, they will have to open a window on the C295, but that cannot be done above 13,000ft, a level at where there is still the possibility of cloud obscuring the view. “We get two minutes to get into a gap in the cloud, point the aircraft in the right direction, get the bubble window open and get the equipment pointed at the sun and then do the observations. It’s not an easy feat,” says Gallagher. Armagh Observatory and Planetarium will be hosting a day full of family-friendly activities on Wednesday to mark the eclipse. It is vying, along with the Birr Scientific and Heritage Foundation and Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, for Unesco World Heritage status. Other places hosting events include Ballycroy Visitor Centre in Mayo, Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, the Irish Astronomical Society (at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre), the Irish Astronomical Association in Belfast and Midlands Astronomy Club.Maynooth University has sold out its 450 tickets for a public viewing event, and there is a waiting list with hundreds more.Circumstances will not be as good again for us until a total solar eclipse on September 23rd, 2090, which will again favour the southwest. Total solar eclipses in Ireland are incredibly rare; the last one was on May 22nd, 1724. This year’s eclipse is total on a narrow track that initially favours some countries ringing the Arctic before the moon’s umbra passes about 220km off our coast. The path next makes landfall in Spain diagonally from the north to roughly southeast and ends by treating the Balearic Islands to a spectacular totality just minutes before sunset.As if winning the World Cup was not enough, Spain will enjoy two total eclipses in as many years, with another one due next year on August 2nd, 2027, which will be the longest one for more than a century. In 2028, Spain will also have an annular eclipse, when the moon will obscure all but the outer disk of the sun, making it look like a ring of fire.How to keep your eyes safePeople watching a solar eclipse in Fredericksburg, Texas, in April 2024. Photograph: Holly Lynton/The New York Times Eye safety is paramount if you plan to take a look at the near-complete eclipse, as the fraction of sun remaining mid-eclipse is still unsafe to stare at directly without taking proper care.However, practical and safe ways to watch the show unfold are described in a booklet at eclipse26.ie, compiled by Dunsink Observatory and ESERO Ireland.Certified eclipse glasses have filters made with special material to reject the sun’s dangerous energy across various wavelengths, but check for any pinholes first by holding them up to a light, and discard if you notice any scratches.Unfortunately, many major retailers in Ireland have missed a trick as few of them are selling ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses for looking at the sun. Astronomy Ireland is selling eclipse glasses at its shop in the Rosemount Business Park in Dublin 11 but you will have to travel there to get them. Without taking proper precautions, there is a risk of permanent eye injury due to thermal retinal burn. Your eye’s retina has no pain receptors, so you are unaware as the harm is being done.It is safe to photograph or video the eclipse on your smartphone, though prudent to use a solar filter if you have one. Failing that, you could cover a camera lens with your eclipse glasses while taking a shot. Smartphones are not good at taking close-up shots. For that you will need a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, but you will need a solar filter for long exposures. These can vary in price from €20 to €100, but it will be hard to buy them in camera shops between now and the eclipse as they are in high demand. John Flannery is editor of the Irish Astronomical Society’s quarterly journal