article_snippet: It will be the most spectacular celestial show of It kind for 16 years and won’t happen again for a decade.
article_snippet: The dramatic partial eclipse begins at 8.30am and will reach its maximum point around an hour later.
article_snippet: The phenomenon – in which The Moon moves in front of the sun – will be most visible in more remote parts of the country, which are said to offer the perfect viewing environment.
article_snippet: Special shades like this are a good bet for watching Britain's first great eclipse this century, with the next partial eclipse of this magnitude not set to take place until 2026 .
article_snippet: The timeline for the eclipse in Manchester.
article_snippet: First sight will come at 8.20am and maximum eclipse at 9.32am .
article_snippet: Cloudy skies also meant spectators struggled to see the UK’s last eclipse on August 11, 1999, but the effect was still dramatic as the country was pitched into darkness.
article_snippet: The next eclipse of similar magnitude will take place on August 12, 2026, with 95 per cent of the sun obscured.
article_snippet: Britain will not see a total solar eclipse until September 23, 2090.
article_snippet: Anticipating Friday the UK’s event, Robin Scagell from the Society for Popular Astronomy said: ‘We won’t experience totality [of darkness] in the UK but it will still be memorable.
highlights_snippet: The Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth in this landmark event .
  
highlights_snippet: The Moon will cast a deep shadow over the planet's surface in a partial eclipse .