Look up to French skies for partial solar eclipse tomorrow

A partial solar eclipse will be visible over France tomorrow (October 25) from around 11:15 in the north and 11:30 in the south.

France’s Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides observatory institute has told TF1 that people in France will be able to see “the most beautiful of celestial phenomena, a solar eclipse during which the Moon will partially obscure the solar disc.”

The eclipse will be visible everywhere in France, but particularly in the north east, where nearly 20% of the sun will be masked in Strasbourg, 18.4% in Metz and 17.2% in Lille.

In Lyon, it will be 11.8%, in Paris 13.7%, and Toulouse it will be 5.4%.

Photo credit: IMCCE

The phenomenon will last for a couple of hours, coming to an end around 13:00.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and casts a shadow on our planet.

In some places, the Sun can be completely obscured, the alignment will only be partial, as will be the case in western Europe tomorrow. In Russia, up to 82% of the Sun will be covered.

Each year, two to five partial solar eclipses take place, with a total eclipse happening at certain points around the world every 18 months or so. However, whether you will be able to view these events depends on where you are.

If you are planning to watch the eclipse, you should use special eclipse glasses to protect your eyes; normal sunglasses are not sufficient.

If you do not have special glasses, you can try using a simple kitchen colander. Stand with your back to the Sun and hold the colander between you and a piece of paper. You should be able to see dozens of tiny images of the eclipse projected onto the paper through the colander’s holes.

You can find out more about watching an eclipse safely in this leaflet.

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