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In the eclipse, the moon will throw its shadow onto the sun covering its middle part but leaving an outer ring.
Viewed from here, the sun will appear like a ring of fire and the moon like a circular dark patch in the sun.
The eclipse will only dim but not totally darken the sky.
The the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, NASA bsite says the eclipse will start in central Africa at dawn and then move east, through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
The eclipse will only dim but not totally darken the sky.
The the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, NASA bsite says the eclipse will start in central Africa at dawn and then move east, through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
Parts of Kenya will be engulfed in partial darkness as a result of the eclipse, which according to the NASA, will begin at 7am.
The areas that will experience the annular eclipse include Busia, Mumias, Kakamega, Mogotio, Kiganjo and Embu.
Other towns on the eclipse path include Nairobi, Meru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kericho, Kisii, Garissa and Lamu.
According
to Kenya metrological department's weather forecasting assistant
director Samuel Mwangi, Kenya will be among the countries that will
experience the effects of the eclipse.
Mwangi
says the path of the moon's antumbral shadow will begin in Africa and
pass through Chad, Central African Republic, and Democratic republic of
Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
The path of the axis will run through Kakamega, Nakuru, Nyeri, Embu and Lamu.
The
south limit of the eclipse will run through Keekorok, Makindu and off
through north of Malindi while the northern limit will run through
North of Kitale, South of Marsabit and Wajir to Kismayu in Somalia.
The eclipse will then continue to Asia through Bangladesh, India, Myanmar in Burma and china.
Prof
Philip Baki of the Department of Physics at the University of Nairobi
said the eclipse should be observed in Kenya around 8.30am.
"Tanzanians
will not see it," Prof Baki said, adding "for the annular solar eclipse
to occur, the sun, moon and earth must lie in a straight line."
When
this happens a partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of
the moon's penumbral shadow with the public being urged not to look
directly at the sun as this would cause blindness.
Astronomy
websites warn that it will not be safe to directly look at the sun with
the naked eye as this will lead to burning of the retina and loss of
visual functioning.
Even sunglasses, binoculars and telescopes will be unsafe to view the eclipse.
Even sunglasses, binoculars and telescopes will be unsafe to view the eclipse.
For
safe observation, enthusiasts are advised to project the image of the
eclipse onto a white screen using a pinhole camera or binoculars.
The white screen could be a piece of paper, a wall or a cloth.
To make a pinhole camera, one needs to make a tiny hole into a cardboard.
To make a pinhole camera, one needs to make a tiny hole into a cardboard.
To
project the image of the eclipse, stand with your back to the sun and
move the cardboard back and forth in front of the screen until you have
a big enough image of the eclipse sun.
For a good image, the pin-holed cardboard should be at least a metre away from the screen.
Friday's eclipse will be the longest in this millennium.
Friday's eclipse will be the longest in this millennium.
At
some point, as the eclipse moves over the Indian Ocean, maximum eclipse
or annularity will last 11 minutes and eight seconds.
In
July last year, parts of Asia witnessed the longest total solar eclipse
of the 21st century which lasted six minutes and 39 seconds.
The last annular solar eclipse occurred on October 3, 2005.