The conditions are practically perfect. For most people, this evening offers the best chance in a lifetime to see an almost total solar eclipse – with the added bonus of meteor showers.
Across the country, from about 6.15pm, the moon will gradually slide across the face of the sun until it covers up to 96 per cent.
The precise moment this begins, and how complete the darkness will be, depends on where you are (see below), but everywhere can expect at least a 90 per cent blackout.
This coincides with the peak of the annual Perseids meteor shower, when thousands of space rocks
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