The Moon will come to hide a piece of the Sun, Tuesday, October 25, above part of the Northern Hemisphere, in a partial eclipse of about two hours which will not darken the sky but which will have to be observed with precaution.
The celestial phenomenon will start Tuesday at 08:58 GMT in Iceland and end off India at 13:02 GMT, crossing Europe, North-East Africa and the Middle East, specifies the French Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE) of the Paris Observatory.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned.
When the alignment is almost perfect, the cone of shadow of the Moon touches the surface of the Earth and obstructs the entire solar disk: the eclipse is total.
This time, the shadow of the Moon will not touch the ground and "it will nowhere be possible to witness the total disappearance of the Sun", explains the Paris Observatory in a press release.
At the maximum of the eclipse, expected over Kazakhstan, the Sun will be 82.2% hidden, "but not yet enough to have a perception of darkness" in broad daylight, astronomer Florent Deleflie told AFP. at the Observatory.
Because "to start having a feeling of darkness in the sky, to perceive a kind of cold light, you need at least 95% obscuration of the Sun", he adds.
In metropolitan France, the eclipse will remain below 20%.
It will start around 11:15 a.m. in the north of the country, 11:30 a.m. in the south, and end around 1:00 p.m.
It will only be perceptible on condition that the weather is fine, by looking at the Sun with suitable, new glasses, to avoid eye burns.
Or magnifying instruments (binoculars, telescopes) with filter, available in the centers that will organize an observation.
"We will see that a little bit of Sun is missing. In France it will not necessarily be very spectacular, but it is always an event for amateur astronomers and it can make for beautiful photos", hopes Florent Deleflie.
This is the sixteenth partial solar eclipse of the 21st century, and the second this year, visible over the South Pacific.
In metropolitan France, the last partial eclipse dates back to June 10, 2021.
On August 12, 2026, a total eclipse will occur, whose totality zone will not cross France, but which will give rise to an obscuration of the solar disk of 92% seen from Paris and 96% seen from Marseille, announces the IMCCE .
With AFP
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