SCIENTISTS will bring their telescopes out on to the streets as a solar eclipse dazzles Oxford this week.

The moon will block out a section of the sun to an extent not seen for 16 years.

The two-hour spectacular on Friday will start at about 8.25am, and the view will be particularly stunning from Oxford, where about 80 to 90 per cent of the sun will appear to be covered.

During the sky-high show, scientists from Oxford University will set up telescopes outside the Said Business School for passers-by to look through.

Astrophysicist Dr Brooke Simmons said: “We will be out with telescopes and also have some pinhole devices to give to people.


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“There will also be different types of telescopes, which can isolate certain kinds of light to show up the different features on the sun.”

Examples of what people can spot during the eclipse included sun spots and the sun’s aura of plasma, called the corona, Dr Simmons said.

She added: “In Oxfordshire it will get close to a total eclipse, but not quite there. If you do have the right equipment you can observe some pretty spectacular things.”

Looking at the sun directly can damage your vision but you do not need anything more than a colander or a shoebox to view Friday’s eclipse, says Dr Simmons’s colleague Rebecca Smethurst.

She said: “The best thing to do if you don’t have a telescope is to make your own pinhole camera.”

See video instructions at youtube.com/watch?v=EGCYu7RMZLo