THE first solar eclipse to pass over the UK since 1999 will appear over East Lancashire on Friday morning - and here are eclipse facts and figures to help you see it safely.
1. The eclipse will be visible over East Lancashire at around 9.30am
2. You should never look directly at the sun as this can lead to retinal burns and may cause significant and sometimes permanent loss of sight.
3. Sunglasses are useless and even things like food packing and bin liners that look as if they're made of dense material can let through infrared light and burn your retina.
4. The eclipse can be seen by projecting an image from a telescope or binoculars on to a piece of white card, using a mirror to cast the image on to a wall, or making a pin-hole viewer from pieces of card or a cereal box that acts like a lens. An ordinary colander can also be used to produce multiple eclipse images on a piece of paper.
5. In London, the eclipse begins at 8.24am, reaches its maximum extent at 9.31am, and ends at 10.41am. For observers in Edinburgh, the eclipse starts at 8.30am and peaks at 9.35 am.
How different stages of the eclipse will look:
6. Around the UK the proportion of the Sun covered by the Moon will increase towards the north, ranging from 84% in London to 89% in Manchester, 93% in Edinburgh, and 97% in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.
7. Another "deep" partial eclipse visible in the UK will not occur until August 12 2026 and the next total eclipse not until September 2090 8. Total solar eclipses can be seen somewhere on Earth every 18 months on average, but are considered rare events that recur at any given location just once every 360 to 410 years.
9. A solar eclipse takes place when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned and the Moon's shadow touches the Earth's surface.
What does a #SolarEclipse look like from space? This @eumetsat animation shows the 1999 eclipse http://t.co/rMqZipoqpv
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 16, 2015
10. On the evening before the eclipse, the Earth and the Moon are at the closest distance they can be to each other, making for the appearance of a ‘Supermoon’ in the sky. This makes the Spring Equinox eclipse a ‘Supermoon’ eclipse, which means the ‘Supermoon’, equinox, and eclipse, will all fall on the same day.
11. The sky is expected to eerily dim during this time, but views of the eclipse are threatened by cloudy weather across southern England and Wales, with clearer skies forecast further north.
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