A 300-year-old mystery has been solved by scientists at the University of Reading.

The 'eclipse wind', a change in wind direction as the moon temporarily blocks out the sun, has baffled scientists for centuries but has now been laid to rest.

Edmund Halley, a 16th century astronomer, who discovered Halley's comet the only comet visible to the naked eye, noted the “chill and damp” which occurred during the 1715 eclipse.

The National Eclipse Weather Experiment took place during the partial eclipse on March 20 last year and found that not only did the atmosphere cool, but the winds also slackened. Meteorologists at the University of Reading, aided by data from over 4,500 citizen scientists and the Met Office, analysed the results.

They found the phenomenon is caused by variations to the 'boundary layer', the area separating high-level winds from those at ground-level.

The experiment, led by Professor Harrison and Professor Gray, has been noted for it's involvement of the public in collecting data.

Professor Harrison, winner of the 2016 Institute of Physics Appleton Medal, said: “I first became interested in the 'eclipse winds' during the 1999 eclipse but could only collect a small amount of data.”

“This experiment provided an outreach opportunity and the chance to get people to think about science. It would not have been possible without the volunteers data. We obtained a fantastic set of measurements”.

Professor Harrison said that this discovery was also made possible due to a new powerful computer model.

The results not only provide an explanation to this 300 year old question, but has been used to aid the National Grid in planning for natural changes and renewable energy research.