Solar Eclipse 2015 - On Friday, the first day of Spring, parts of the world will be seeing a rare phenomenon where the sun will be completely concealed by the moon - a solar eclipse. In acknowledgment of the exceptional event, Google has marked the Solar Eclipse 2015 with an animated doodle on its homepage.
The Google animation for the Solar Eclipse 2015 shows the moon passing in front of a sun which is a yellow, second letter 'O' of Google, while the other letters are composed of blooming flowers to indicate the new season.
As the Solar Eclipse 2015 occurs, the moon will be moving in front of the sun, covering it, thus turning the Earth dark.
In general, a solar eclipse only happens during new moon, when the moon is able to block the sight of the sun directly from certain places in the world. An eclipse can take place up to five times a year. However, NASA says that during the 25 years which have had 5,000 new moons, the Earth has had five solar eclipses.
The Solar Eclipse 2015 will occur around 8:45 a.m. GMT and will be due to last for a few hours, according to the Guardian.
Most of the Solar Eclipse 2015 will reportedly go unnoticed since its path falls over the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. It will begin in Greenland, moving counterclockwise towards the northeast, and will pass over Iceland and the UK.
Phases of the Solar Eclipse 2015 will reportedly be visible from everywhere in Europe, most of northern Africa, western Asia and parts of the Middle East. In Newfoundland, Canada, Saint John's will be seeing a small part of it during sunrise. However, the rest of North America will not be able to see the Solar Eclipse 2015.
On the Norwegian islands of Svalbard, some hotels have reportedly been booked out for the event since 2008 because the sun will be completely blocked out.
The best view for the Solar Eclipse 2015 will be at the topmost of Scotland, where it will be almost total, according to The Independent.
While it's important to determine when and where the Solar Eclipse 2015 is, it's equally imperative to know how to watch it. Watching it wrong may damage one's eyesight permanently, worst case causing blindness.
Sky watchers must take care when taking photos of the eclipse on digital devices as well. Looking directly at the sun when taking selfies and other photographs can lead to burns at the back of the eye, even with dark sunglasses.
If you don't have glasses specially made for the Solar Eclipse 2015, you can use a homemade pinhole camera by using two pieces of paper or card.
The Solar Eclipse 2015 will be broadcast live online through the Slooh Community Observatory's website, slooh.com, from 8:30 a.m.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
