A solar
eclipse is set to block out nearly 90 per cent of sunlight across parts
of Europe next month - and it will be the biggest event of its kind in
16 years.
On 20 March, the moon's orbit will see it travel in front of the sun, casting a shadow over Earth.
The eclipse will see up to 84 per cent of the sun covered in London - and around 94 per cent in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
Meanwhile,
electricity system operators have warned the eclipse poses a serious
risk of blackouts all over Europe as the continent increasingly relies
on solar power
.
The event is
taking place on the morning of 20 March, and a partial eclipse will be
visible across Europe, North Africa and Russia for about 90 minutes.
Northern Scandinavia and the Faroe Islands will experience a full eclipse, known as totality.
Dr
Steve Bell, head of the HM Nautical Almanac Office told MailOnline that
Torshavn in the Faroe Islands will see two minutes and two seconds of
totality.
And the
maximum duration of totality will be two minutes 47 seconds at a point
186 miles (300km) to the east of Iceland in the Norwegian Sea.
In
London, the partial eclipse - when the moon starts touching the sun's
edge - will start at 8.45am GMT. The maximum eclipse will hit at 9.31am
and this will be the point when the moon is closest to the centre of the
sun.
By 10.41am the moon will leave the sun's edge and the partial eclipse will end.
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