Solar eclipse this friday

Muscat will have the best view of the solar eclipse in the Gulf.

This coming Friday millions of people across Europe and Asia will be looking to the sky to catch a glimpse of the moon passing between the sun and the Earth.

Those living in a narrow corridor stretching from Canada across northern Greenland and central Russia to China will get the rare opportunity to see a total eclipse of the sun, but a partial eclipse will be visible in much of Europe, Asia and northeastern North America.

Arabian Business can reveal Muscat will be the best city in the Gulf region from which to view of this week's eclipse, while those in Jeddah will miss out completely, according to data from US space agency NASA.

For those die-hard astronomers, the very best view of the eclipse in the Gulf will be from the most northerly tip of the Omani territory of Madha to the north of the UAE.

In Muscat the eclipse will have a magnitude of around 0.229, which means as much as 15 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon. A full eclipse has a magnitude of above 1.0.

Dubai will be the next best place to see the eclipse in the region with just over 10 percent of the sun blotted out by the moon, followed by Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City, Doha and Manama.

The eclipse will also be visible in Riyadh, but only just. With a magnitude of around 0.061, people in the Saudi capital will only be able to see around 1 percent of the sun covered by the moon.

The best place on Earth to watch the natural phenomenon is in a town in central Russia called Nadym on the Nadym River, where the eclipse will have a magnitude of 1.019.

The eclipse will be visible first in Kuwait, followed by Dubai, Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Riyadh.

The eclipse will reach its maximum in Kuwait at around 1112 GMT, at 1127 GMT in Dubai, 1124 GMT in Doha and Manama, 1128 GMT in Abu Dhabi, 1133 in Muscat and 1120 GMT in Riyadh.

Observers of partial eclipses are advised to use special eye protection or view the eclipse indirectly because harmful infrared radiation given off from the sun can cause retinal damage.

Astronomical societies warn using sunglasses are not safe because they do not block out infrared radiation.

They say the safest way to view the sun during an eclipse is by projecting an image of the disk onto a white piece of paper or card using a pair of binoculars, a telescope, or piece of cardboard with a small hole in it (about 1mm diameter).

Experts also warn cameras can be damaged by direct exposure to the sun during an eclipse.

The effects of the eclipse may be limited in the Gulf. According to experts, around two-thirds or more of the sun needs to be obscured for observers to notice daylight fade or the temperature drop.

[mod note - read the date - this is 1 year old!]