In the morning of March 20th Europeans will be treated with the amazing show of a total solar eclipse. The path of totality is unfortunately confined to the northern Atlantic ocean, and will miss Iceland and England, passing only over the Faroer islands - no wonder there's no hotel room available there since last September! Curiously, the totality will end on the north pole, which on March 20th has the sun exactly at the horizon. Hence the conditions for a great shot like the one below are perfect - I only hope somebody will be at the north pole with a camera...
(Image credit: Fred Bruenjes; apod.nasa.gov)
Despite the annoying feature of the totality path missing comfortable locations, the fraction of eclipsed Sun's disk will be large for northern European observers, with best observing conditions in Iceland, Ireland, England, and Norway. The animated gif below shows the area interested by the phenomenon.
If you plan to observe the eclipse, please DO NOT stare at the sun directly - even if the fraction not eclipsed is small, one second or two of direct stare is enough to cause permanent damage to your retina. Sunglasses are NOT OK. You should plan in advance and get equipped with a blackened glass or filters built for the very purpose of direct sun observation. Don't do it yourself - it is more dangerous than it seems. Also, observation through an optical system can only be done by the method of indirect optical projection: you aim the instrument at the sun with the lowest possible magnification, and place a piece of white cardboard in front of the eyepiece.
I will be happy if you share your impressions on the event if you observe it, in the comments thread!
