Hundreds of observers gathered on the plateau of Großer Feldberg in Hesse and at the Hoher List Observatory in the Eifel on Wednesday evening to watch the partial solar eclipse, after forecasts had promised clear skies across the region.
The parking lot at Großer Feldberg filled up roughly an hour before the eclipse began, forcing officials to close access roads, while the observatory event sold out at 180 attendees with some 200 turned away. Across Germany, the moon obscured 85 to 90 percent of the sun, with maximum coverage reached between 20:05 and 20:15 before the eclipse ended with sunset around 20:30 to 21:00.
In the Czech Republic, the moon began covering the sun after 19:18, peaking at roughly 20:11, with western and southern areas seeing over 85 percent coverage. It was the country's most significant eclipse since August 1999, with the next total eclipse not expected until 2135.