[fw] Spectacular annular eclipse set for Monday http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8085-spectacular-annular-eclipse-set-for-monday.html Skywatchers are in for a rare treat on Monday 3 October when an annular eclipse will darken the Sun in a swathe across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia . In an annular eclipse, the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth. But unlike in a total eclipse it does not completely cover the solar face. Instead the Moon appears as a shaded disc with a dazzling, beaded corona around its rim. The "corridor" over the Earth's surface from which the eclipse can be seen is a narrow one, snaking from the North Atlantic, where the eclipse starts at 0841 GMT, across the Iberian peninsula and then to northern and eastern Africa before petering out in the Indian Ocean at 1222 GMT. The countries that lie on this path are Spain (notably Madrid, when best viewing will be 0856 GMT), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, northern Chad, central Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The maximum duration of "annularity" will be 4 minutes 31 seconds, when the Sun is high overhead in central Sudan. Cities that lie north and south of the corridor will get a partial eclipse, in which the Moon will appear to take a bite out of the Sun. They include Berlin, London, Moscow, Reyjkavik, Rome, Jerusalem, Tehran and Istanbul. Even locations as distant as Johannesburg and New Delhi will, weather-permitting, get a tiny partial eclipse, says NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak. Rare sights This will be the fourth annular eclipse of the 21st century. Total eclipses happen about once every 18 months, although they usually can only be seen from the sea or sparsely inhabited areas. The next total eclipse, on 29 March 2006, will traverse equatorial West Africa, the Sahara, the western Mediterranean, Turkey and Russia. For websites that will be running live webcasts of the eclipse, click here. Anyone watching an eclipse should use special eclipse filters - never the naked eye, sunglasses or a makeshift object such as a coloured bottle. Even at its darkest, an eclipsed Sun still emits light in the non-visible, ultraviolet range of the energy spectrum, and without protection this can badly damage the retina.