After the solar eclipse on August 11 , 1999 , in Europe , people began to show more interest in solar eclipses . On October 3 , 2005 , there was another solar eclipse , and unusually many people came to see it . The solar eclipse of August 11 , 1999 , in Europe helped to increase public awareness of the phenomenon , which apparently led to an unusually large number of journeys made specifically to witness the annular solar eclipse of October 3 , 2005 , and of March 29 , 2006 .