Partial eclipse (35 percent) of the Sun today at 12.19pm

Joan Collins TODAY at midday the sun will be eclipsed by the moon and it will be visible from Majorca as a partial eclipse (35 percent), according to the Majorcan Astronomic Observatory which has organised an open day for those who wish to view the event. The eclipse will start at 11.17am, maximum coverage will be achieved at 12.19pm and the eclipse will finish at 1.23pm. In the Majorca Planetarium, in the exterior amphitheatre, telescopes with filters, solar viewers and glasses with special filters for observing the sun will be available so that people will be able to view the eclipse safely. Also in the Observatory, which is situated in Costitx, there will be a control post set up at the entrance to ensure that nobody can enter with anything which poses a risk to their sight. The Observatory will be open from 10.45am to 1.30pm. An eclipse of the sun takes place when the Earth, Moon and Sun are in alignment. In today's eclipse, viewed from the islands, only a little more than a third of the sun will be covered by the moon. This can be easily captured on video or digital cameras using a zoom lens (10x) with a filter to neutralise the sun's effect. An observer from the Majorcan Astronomic Observatory has gone to the north of Libya and Egypt to take pictures of the total eclipse which will be used in a programme about eclipses which is being produced by the Majorca Planetarium. The total eclipse can also be seen from a narrow band (180 kilometres wide) around the world. This band crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, Turkey, the south of Russia and Mongolia, and the north east coast of Brazil. The total eclipse lasts three and a half minutes and starts as the sun crosses the coast of Africa from the Atlantic Ocean into the south of Ghana. Watching solar eclipses is as attractive as it is risky for the sight without proper precautions. You should never look directly at the sun, even for a few seconds, because the loss of sight you will suffer will be immediate and irreversible. Safe observation of an eclipse is only possible with a solar filter of the type used by welders, or special glasses for observing solar eclipses which should carry the European E12 mark, which means that for every 100'000 photons only 1 will reach your eyes. X-rays, smoked glass, fogged camera film or diskettes are high risk viewing shields which don't protect your eyes from the infrared or ultraviolet rays which damage the eyes permanently.