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Sky watchers prepare for partial solar eclipse
People across Britain will be looking skyward tomorrow to witness a partial solar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse: The eclipse will occur between 8.48am and 11.18am tomorrow morning, as the moon appears to take a bite out of the sun.
Telescopes will be on hand in London's Hyde Park and at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to enable people to view the event safely.
The mid-point of the eclipse will occur at 10.01am, when about 57 per cent of the solar disc, as seen from London, will be covered.
The event will be the largest solar eclipse visible from the capital until 2011, when 75 per cent of the sun will be eclipsed.
In the past, superstitious people thought the sun really was being devoured by monstrous celestial creatures - a dragon in China, a giant frog in Vietnam, and a jaguar in Argentina.
Today solar eclipses attract curiosity rather than fear.
However, they can still be dangerous. Experts warn against staring at the sun with a naked eye or through an unfiltered lens, which can cause permanent eye damage or even blindness.
The size of tomorrow's eclipse will vary according to where it is being viewed from.
Observers in Aberdeen will see a 44 per cent eclipse, while in Plymouth 64 per cent of the sun will be covered. The peak time of the eclipse will also vary between locations.
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10-03-2005, 02:51 AM
