Natural spectacle: looking up at the solar eclipse

Rush to planetarium

The crowds were particularly large in front of the Zeiss Planetarium in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. The police were on site due to the crowds. The nearby Prenzlauer Allee S-Bahn station was closed. The police spoke of around 3,000 onlookers in the square in front of the planetarium that evening.

But there were also spots where the natural spectacle could be observed almost undisturbed: According to a dpa reporter, the solar eclipse was clearly visible on the platform of the Zehlendorf S-Bahn station. Just four people gathered there to watch the natural wonder.

Large gatherings of people all over Berlin

There were larger gatherings of people at Schwedter Steg and on the bridges in Prenzlauer Berg, as well as at Gesundbrunnen and on the Humboldthain flak tower. Just as many onlookers sat down at Lietzensee in Charlottenburg to marvel at the spectacle.

The moon began to move in front of the sun at 7:15 p.m. and cast its shadow on Earth. At 8:08 p.m. the maximum coverage was reached at 85 percent and around 8:37 p.m., when the sun set, the spectacle ended.

Later in the evening, the Perseid stream can still be observed, reaching its peak at night. The meteor shower is best seen between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Astronomers expect up to a hundred shooting stars per hour. This year there is no moonlight to disturb the observations because it is a new moon, as with every solar eclipse.

Rare event

Only on September 3rd, 2081 will one be able to see a completely eclipsed sun again from the extreme southwest corner of Germany – more precisely: the bright solar corona around the pitch-black new moon disk. The last solar eclipse, whose totality zone passed over southern Germany and Austria, was observed on August 11, 1999.