People throughout Europe and parts of the U.S. will be treated to a chance to see a solar eclipse on Wednesday.
People in Iceland, Greenland, northern Russia, Spain, and a part of Portugal will see a total eclipse, according to astronomers. That's when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, fully blocking the Sun's face. NASA says northern parts of the United States, including from Alaska to North Carolina, will see a partial solar eclipse.
During a partial solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, but the celestial bodies are not perfectly aligned. Because only parts of the sun are obscured, the sun appears as a crescent shape.
The partial eclipse is expected to begin around 1:17 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. and have 4% coverage, according to NASA. That means up to 4 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon. In Reykjavík, Iceland, the total eclipse will begin at 5:48 p.m. local time , and in León, Spain, totality will begin at 8:28 p.m and last for two minutes. This will be the first solar eclipse visible from Spain's mainland since 1905, according to the European Space Agency.
For those who plan to watch either the total or partial eclipse, special equipment such as eclipse glasses or handheld viewers with special filters will be necessary to protect one's eyes. Regular sunglasses will not be effective for eye protection, even during a partial eclipse. Looking at the sun, even if for a short time, can cause significant eye damage, including burns and even permanent vision loss, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
While the eclipse will give skywatchers a chance to safely marvel at the rare phenomena, some scientists will use it as an opportunity to better understand the sun. NASA says it will have teams using scientific balloons and a high-altitude jet to study how the sky when darkened for a short period of time impacts the Earth's atmosphere.
"From our unique perspective on Earth during a total solar eclipse, scientists can study the Sun's corona in a way we can't from anywhere else in the solar system," Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager for NASA, said in a statement.
The next partial solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the U.S. on Aug. 2, 2027 – with totality visible from Spain, the Middle East and parts of North Africa. A total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the contiguous U.S. on Aug. 23, 2044.
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