Millions of people across Europe have defied gloomy weather forecasts to watch a solar eclipse cast its shadow across the continent.
Some lucky observers in Britain got to experience the full extent of the event as the moon crossed in front of the sun, covering up to 97% of its face.
One of the best vantage points was in South Gloucestershire, where amateur astronomer Ralph Wilkins described the "eerie" feeling as a chilly gloom descended and shadows sharpened.
Elsewhere there were reports of birds "going crazy" and flocking to trees, confused by the fading light.
Skywatchers in Newquay, Cornwall, got a clear view of first contact as the moon cut across the Sun at 8.20am, shortly after observers in Spain saw the eclipse begin.
As the spectacle began, astronomer Tom Kerss told Sky News: "You're seeing the Moon's rugged mountainous and valleyed surface starting to cut into the face of the Sun. That will just grow and cut more of the Sun away."
:: Live Updates: Countdown To The Solar Eclipse
First contact in London was visible at 8.47am, with a large crowd of enthusiasts choosing the Royal Observatory at Greenwich as the ideal spot to watch as the Sun was partially obscured.
Members of the public and commuters who might have caught sight of the eclipse on the way to work had been warned that looking directly at the Sun could seriously damage their eyesight.
Despite fears that cloud cover could ruin the event, there were good views in many areas, from the South West to London, Lincolnshire and the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
But some were left disappointed, including in cloudy Eastbourne, Glasgow, Bristol and Sheffield.
Twitter user @RGGoldie wrote from Jersey: "So cloudy I can't even tell where the sun is right now."
Even in gloomy areas darker skies and a slight drop in temperature were experienced during the event that will not be seen again in the UK until 2026.
It was the deepest solar eclipse shadow to fall across Britain since 1999.
The Faroe Islands and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the North Atlantic were the only places to get a total eclipse.
There were clouds in the Faroes, where Jill and Valerie Lucas, who travelled from Pennsylvania in the US to watch the eclipse, told Sky's Senior Correspondent Ian Woods: "This is a thrill in itself, to be this dark at nine o'clock in the morning - it's like nine o'clock at night."
But moments later there were gasps from the delighted crowd when the Sun broke through the darkness of total obscuration at 9.42am.
Around the UK, the proportion of the sun covered by the moon increased towards the north, ranging from 84% in London to 89% in Manchester, 93% in Edinburgh and 97% in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.
:: London
The partial phase of the eclipse commenced at 8.25am. One hour and six minutes later at 9.31am the maximum eclipse occurred with 85% of the Sun blocked out. The event ended at 10.41am.
:: Manchester
Viewers in the northwest saw 90% of the Sun obscured. The event began at 8.27am, and reached maximum coverage at 9.32am. It lasted two hours and fifteen minutes finished at 10.42am.
:: Belfast
The event began a minute later than London at 8.26am and lasted two hours and 13 minutes, ending at 10.39am. The eclipse reached maximum coverage at 9.31am when 95% of the Sun was obscured.
:: Scotland
Further north, eclipse watchers enjoyed a slightly better show. Viewers in Edinburgh saw 93% of the Sun covered and from Lerwick in the Shetland Isles, the Moon obscured 97% of the solar disk.
:: Aberystwyth
Viewers watched the eclipse from 8.24am and the event lasted a total of two hours and 14 minutes. The event reached maximum at 9.29am when 90% of the Sun was obscured.
Despite the excitement, Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, warned the event could become memorable for the wrong reasons if observers failed to heed warnings of the dangers.
"This one takes place right in the middle of the rush-hour," he said. "It's not the best time from a safety point of view.
"A partial eclipse is more risky by far than a total eclipse because people don't realise that even looking at a thin sliver of sun is dangerous. It's absolutely true that there is a serious risk to people's eyesight.
"If people can't find a way to view the eclipse correctly then they shouldn't look because they're likely to damage their eyes."
A tourist visiting Norway for the eclipse has described the terrifying moment a polar bear dragged him out of his tent as he slept.
:: Watch a Sky News special report on the solar eclipse today at 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 6.30pm and 9.30pm on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202. Also available on skynews.com, iPad, iPhone and Sky Go.
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