The First Solar Eclipse of 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