The year 2011 may be remembered as the year of eclipses, which offers memorable performances for fans of astronomical phenomena. You will be able to observe 6 in total: two will be Moon eclipses and four will be Sun eclipses The first one will be an eclipse of the Sun and it will be on Tuesday, January 4 and it will be visible from much of Europe. The sun will rise already eclipsed by the Moon. The best viewing will be moving to the North (the blackout will be in Copenhagen by 82 percent and Berlin 80.6 percent).
In Italy, however, it will be a record-breaking phenomenon. According to the astronomers it will be, together with that of March 20, 2015, the greatest eclipse visible until 2026. Late Tuesday night, you should all be looking upwards to see a meteor shower from the Quadrantids, named after the constellation that is located in Quadrant Wall. Starting from 7.45 am the partial eclipse of the Sun will begin. Anyone living in the south of Italy will see it first, which is expected to be in Palermo, Sicily at 9.06 am. In Rome it will be visible at 9:11 and a minute later in Milan, where the Moon will cover 70 percent of the solar disk. In Rome, the percentage will drop to 60 percent and, in Catania, at 50 percent. The phenomenon will last up to 10.40. Although it will be a partial eclipse, it is necessary to adequately protect your eyes and to scan the sky wearing sunglasses designed for this kind of observations. Anyone not using adequate protection, may risk serious damage to the retina. It is not advisable, for example, to use the tinted windows, which allow to filter the radiation more dangerous to the eyes. The importance of this astronomical phenomena on Tuesday, has already drawn the attention of fans who are organizing in Italy observing sessions. “The only problem is that the eclipse will occur with the Sun still relatively low – said astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, from the Planetarium of Rome – and then you’ll see a point where the horizon is clear.”