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The First Solar Eclipse of 2011
Posted On 02 Jan 2011
The first solar eclipse of 2011, which will be only partial, will be seen on January 4 in Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia.
The eclipse will begin at northern Algeria at 6:40 GMT, then it will moves to the east, allowing Europe and Asia to see how the two-thirds of the solar disk be obscured by the moon.
Total eclipses occur when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun with the three bodies perfectly aligned; a partial eclipse is when a small part of the solar disk is visible, as if it had been chewed.
Four partial solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses are expected in 2011, a rare combination that will produce only six times during the century.
Source: AFP