If you're watching the eclipse tonight and have managed to snap a picture of the crowds or the eclipse, then we'd love to see it!

You can send in your pictures to mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk

Experts have warned that pointing an unprotected phone camera at the sun for an extended period can cause damage.

Jez Samuel, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, says: ‘Your phone screen is safe to look at throughout Wednesday's eclipse – it's the camera lens that needs protecting. Point an unfiltered lens at the sun, and you risk burning out the sensor, just as looking with the naked eye risks your vision.

‘A phone camera lens focuses sunlight into an intense point on the sensor behind it, and enough unfiltered exposure will kill pixels permanently.

‘From then on, every shot carries the same dark marks.’

He warned repairs typically range from around £49 for a camera glass replacement to over £250 for a full module swap, depending on the phone.

‘The fix is simple, as long as you don't zoom in,’ he explained. ‘Hold your eclipse glasses in front of the camera lens.

‘Zooming concentrates sunlight the same way a telescope does, and that can burn straight through glasses never designed for it. For zoomed shots, use a dedicated clip-on solar filter instead.

‘If you're planning to photograph or film Wednesday's eclipse, it's also worth making sure your phone has enough battery and storage, so you're not caught out halfway through.’

• Tonight, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across the UK.
• First contact - the moment the moon's shadow is first visible on the sun - will begin shortly after 18:00 BST.
• Maximum coverage will occur roughly one hour later, starting after 19:00 BST.
• Exactly how much of the sun will be obscured will depend on where you are, but up to 96 per cent could be hidden in some parts of the country.

The Moon passes in between the Earth and the Sun at 18.38, at the start of the solar eclipse as seen from King's Stairs Gardens in Bermondsey, south London.

People have been filmed running to reach a stall on the Sea Walls, where We The Curious is handing out free solar glasses in time for the partial eclipse tonight.

In what's been described as "a scene from Independence Day," thousands flocked to the area for the rare astronomical event, where at least 90 per cent of the sun will be blocked out by the moon.

Police have been called to manage the queue at the Sea Walls as people try to get glasses being handed out for free. An eyewitness at the scene said some people grew unruly when they were unable to get their glasses.

They added that there is no parking at the Sea Walls, and vehicles are double and triple-parked on the grass.

John Lewis said colander sales have increased nearly 40 percent compared to last year, as Nasa recommends the kitchen item as a way to watch the eclipse by viewing the shadows it casts on the ground.

A spokesperson said:

Imo Bell, a planetarium astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, said:

The Moon has begun to creep in front of the Sun from 6.08pm in Edinburgh.

It will spread westwards for 10 minutes, reaching Cornwall at 6.18pm.

Dr Shyam Balaji, an astrophysicist at King's College London, told the Daily Mail:

For people directly in the path of totality, that will make it look as if the sun is completely covering the face of the sun.

Interestingly, it is only due to an incredible cosmic coincidence that such a perfect solar eclipse can occur on Earth.

While the moon is about 400 times smaller than the sun, it also happens to be about 400 times closer to Earth.

By pure chance, this allows the moon to perfectly obscure the sun, something which is completely unique in the solar system.

The eclipse has begun in Iceland.