Solar Eclipse Galway LIVE map tracker, time and weather updates and best viewpoints
It is expected that people in the west will see as much as a 98% blockage of the sun
The people of Galway could be about to witness history on Wednesday evening as the rare solar eclipse phenomenon is to be seen around Ireland.
Between the hours of 6pm and 8pm, the sun’s light will be blocked out for as long as two minutes turning a bright summer’s evening into darkness.
The first contact will hit Galway at around 6:12pm; at 7:10pm, the eclipse will be at its maximum stage and by 8:06pm.
It is expected that people in the west will see as much as a 98% blockage of the sun in the first eclipse of its kind since 1999.
And it could be up to sixty years before we experience something like this again with experts warning the next time it happens to this extent could be 2090.
People are being warned not to stare directly at the eclipse without special glasses and not to use smart devices to record it as they could end up frying the chip inside the technology.
Sadhbh Leahy from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at Dunsink Observatory said: "If you want to view the eclipse, you can make a pinhole viewer, you can use eclipse glasses, or if you want to use a telescope or binoculars, it's really important to make sure you have a solar filter for the front of it.”
The best viewing areas in Galway will not depend on your location, but rather if we can get clear skies after 6pm.
Met Eireann are saying: “Wednesday will bring a good deal of dry weather, though there'll be some scattered outbreaks of rain or showers, especially further to the west.
“There'll be a good lot of cloud to begin, but with spells of sunshine too, the best of these in the east and southeast.
“It'll likely brighten up in many other areas through the day, though it'll probably stay mostly cloudy near some western and southwestern coasts, with some mist and fog possible in these areas too.
“A humid and very warm or even hot day with highest temperatures generally ranging from 23 to 28 or 29 degrees, highest in Leinster.
“Temperatures will be a little lower in some coastal parts of the west and southwest, ranging from around 20 to 23 degrees. Winds will be mostly moderate southerly.”
We will have every update around the solar eclipse in Galway in our live blog below throughout the day and into this evening: