Total solar eclipse on March 9

The sun rise in Shillong on March 9 will at 5. While the sun is 400 times wider than the moon, it is also 400 times farther from Earth during an eclipse. However, it could only be seen across an area of Pacific Ocean, beginning in Indonesia, and ending in the northern Pacific Ocean. "For example, those in Jakarta will see an nearly 90 percent eclipse, while those in Surakarta (Central Java) will only see 80 percent", Clara said. In addition to multiple feeds from Indonesia capturing totality, Slooh will have live feeds from several other locations along the eclipse path. The precise location of Slooh's expeditionary team is being withheld due to security concerns. Its bands are visible in small telescopes even for many weeks after March 8.

Usually, there are between two and five solar eclipses every year. The moment of most noteworthy obscuration happens at 7 h 27 m IST when the eclipse magnitude reaches 1.044 with duration of totality 4 minutes and 14 seconds in a district of Pacific Ocean. If you recall your sixth grade science class, the moon will be casting a shadow on Earth while its disk obscures the sun's rays.

This relatively rare phenomenon occurs around once a year as the moon passes precisely between the Sun and Earth, blocking the Sun's bright face. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea will witness more than 50% partial eclipse.

Getty Images/Masashi HaraAnnular Solar Eclipse is observed on May 21, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan. It will cause permanent damage of the eyes leading to blindness even when the moon covers most portion of the Sun.

Video: If you're in the northern half of Australia, next Wednesday 9 March is the day you should get out of bed early. It is advised to make use of a telescope or black polymer, aluminized Mylar or a welding Glass if you want to watch the eclipse.

Both will be less-spectacular "penumbral" lunar eclipses, when the moon is in Earth's faint outer (penumbral) shadow.

Dr Yang's colleague, Dr Cindy Ng, a Senior Lecturer, explained: "The Sun is the source of light and heat".

Soon, solar eclipses will no longer occur as the moon's orbit will continue to widen. Without good knowledge of astronomy, they had absolutely no idea what the circular darkness was, and why it was eating the Sun. Thanks for reading! Just look up, you never know what you will see.

Source: Total solar eclipse on March 9