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24 March 2006
This Wednesday - 29 March - the UK will experience a partial
solar eclipse, as the moon passes in front of the sun. At this
stage, the weather across the UK is forecast to be unsettled,
with a mixture of rain or showers, and drier, clearer spells.
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Facts and figures on the eclipse
- Areas of the UK with the 'greatest' partial eclipse
will be parts of the south-east of England and East Anglia,
with up to 28% of the sun's surface being covered.
- The eclipse will commence at approximately 1045 BST
in London and end at 1223 BST. In Edinburgh the times
are 1055 BST and 1217 BST.
- Eclipse totality will not occur in the UK. The path
of totality will cross the South Atlantic and Africa,
leaving the Libyan/Egyptian coast, before heading towards
Turkey and onto Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia.
- The next partial solar eclipses in the UK are on 1st
August 2008 and then on 4 January 2011.
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This view of Earth shows the path of totality, with other
figures of 0.20 etc. representing percentages, e.g. 20%
of the Sun's surface that will be covered by the moon. Image
© Astronomy Now: Greg Smye-Rumsby
REMEMBER: never look directly at the sun. Project
an image of the Sun through the pin hole in a piece of card
onto another piece of card, to view the partial eclipse.
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| For further information: |
| Met Office Press Office +44 (0)1392 886655 |
| E-mail: pressoffice@metoffice.gov.uk |
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| Met Office Customer Centre 0870 900 0100 |
| If you're outside the UK +44 (0)1392 885680 |
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