Crowds across Yorkshire gathered to watch a major solar eclipse, described by attendees as an incredible and once-in-a-generation experience. The event mattered both as a rare astronomical spectacle and as an opportunity for families, enthusiasts and scientists to share an interest in astronomy safely.

About 200 people joined the York Astronomical Society at Beetle Bank Farm, while hundreds gathered at Roundhay Park in Leeds to use telescopes or improvised viewing methods such as a colander. The University of York set up five specially filtered telescopes, and observers noted the temporary drop in temperature as the Moon partially blocked the Sun.