Partial solar eclipse in Hong Kong on March 9

26 February 2016

A total solar eclipse will occur on 9 March (Wednesday), but it will be visible only as a partial solar eclipse in Hong Kong, weather permitting.

It will begin at 8:05 a.m. and end at 9:57 a.m., with the maximum eclipse occurring at 8:58 a.m. This partial solar eclipse has a magnitude of 0.331, meaning that 33.1% of the Sun's diameter will be obscured by the Moon at maximum eclipse. Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the Sun and the Moon during this partial solar eclipse.

Details of the partial solar eclipse are as follows:

As the elevation of the Sun is rather high during the eclipse, most places with an unobstructed view to the east-southeast are suitable for viewing the event.

Members of the public should never look directly at the Sun with naked eyes nor through a telescope in order to avoid severe damages to their eyes. A safer method is to project the Sun's image through a pinhole or a telescope onto a piece of white paper or cardboard and view the projected image. An illustration of the method is given on the website of the Hong Kong Observatory (the Observatory):

http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/event/event-solar-eclps16_e.htm

Members of the public can also watch the whole event via a webcast starting from 8:00 a.m. that morning to be jointly provided by the Observatory, the Hong Kong Space Museum (the Space Museum), the Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre, the Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College and the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Solar Tower‧Camp on the following web page:

http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/event/webcast-20160309.htm

The next solar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will occur on 26 December, 2019. It will also be a partial solar eclipse in Hong Kong.

For the weather on 9 March, please refer to the latest "9-day Weather Forecast" issued by the Observatory at the following web page:

http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm

As regards the astronomical observation conditions that morning, please refer to the "Weather Information for Astronomical Observation" web page:

http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/astronomy/astro_portal.html

Please refer to the Observatory's web page for a detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse and past solar eclipses observable in Hong Kong:

http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/event/event-solar-eclps1_e.htm