Skygazers hoping to catch views of the partial solar eclipse this morning could get ‘fleeting’ views due to cloudy skies, forecasters have said.

Today, people across the country will be able to see nearly a third of the sun being blocked out by the moon in what is known as an annual eclipse.

An annular eclipse occurs when the sun and moon are exactly in line with the Earth, but the apparent size of the moon is smaller than that of the sun.

This causes the sun to appear as a very bright ring, or annulus, in a phenomenon dubbed as the ‘ring of fire’.

But weather permitting, observers in Oxfordshire will see a crescent sun instead of a ring, as this will be a partial eclipse.

What time does it start?

The phenomenon will begin at 10.08am on June 10 in the UK, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 11.13am, when the moon will cover close to one-third of the sun.

The partial eclipse will end at 12.22pm.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “Thursday morning will see more cloud than recent days over east, south-east and much of southern England though some good breaks are likely with sunny spells.

“Similar conditions are likely over east and north-east Scotland with all these areas having the best visibility of the solar eclipse.

“There will be clear spells over much of central and south-east England.

“Much of the far south-west of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, western and central Scotland will have more in the way of cloud cover, and whilst this may thin by day, the likelihood is that visibility of the eclipse will be somewhat fleeting.

“It will be dry for many, particularly eastern areas, whilst western areas and high ground here are more likely to see some light rain and drizzle.”

Even though a large part of the solar disc will be covered, looking at the partially eclipsed sun without appropriate protection can cause serious and permanent damage to the eyes.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich is live-streaming the eclipse on its website and YouTube channel.

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