Canberrans who missed out on a full lunar eclipse earlier this month may be able to view a partial solar eclipse on Tuesday afternoon from about 4.15pm.
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Australian National University astronomer Dr Paul Francis said the partial eclipse should be visible with the naked eye - depending on cloud cover on Tuesday afternoon.
“What’s happening is the moon is passing across the sun as we view it from it from earth, and what you’ll see is a bite being taken out of the sun by the moon,” he said.
Dr Francis warned people could sustain irreversible eye damage if they looked directly at the solar eclipse through a magnified lens.
“The main thing to be careful of when viewing the partial eclipse is not to blind yourself while using a telescope or binoculars,” he said.
“The best way to view the partial eclipse is with really dark glasses.”
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben McBurnie said Canberra was forecast to get 2-3mm of rainfall from late Tuesday afternoon, which may mean the eclipse is hidden from view.
“We’ll see showers and some rain fall late of Tuesday which will be associated with the approach of the first cold mass,” he said.
Dr Francis said partial solar eclipses were fairly common and were visible a couple of times a year around the world.
