A near-total eclipse of the sun is set to thrill or disappoint millions, depending on luck and the fickle British weather.
Forecasters believe Wales and the Midlands might be treated to the best celestial show as the moon moves in front of the sun at about 9.30am (8.30pm AEDT) on Friday, covering up to 97 per cent of its surface.
Cloud is likely to cover all of the rest of the country, becoming thicker in the north - but no one can predict when there might be a curtain-raising break in the cloud at any given location in the UK.
Despite the cloud, the event is expected to have a significant impact on the National Grid with a predicted loss of 850 megawatts of solar power from the electricity supply network.
The eclipse will produce a 160km-wide "totality" shadow path that crosses the North Atlantic and covers only two land masses, the Faroe Islands between Scotland and Iceland and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
A partial eclipse will be visible across a large part of the northern hemisphere, including the whole of Europe, Greenland, Newfoundland, northern Africa and western Asia.
Robin Scagell from the Society for Popular Astronomy, said people must heed warnings from experts not to look directly at the sun.
"Unlike every other eclipse of any size, this one takes place right in the middle of the rush hour," Scagell said.
"It's not the best time from a safety point of view.
"A partial eclipse is more risky by far than a total eclipse because people don't realise that even looking at a thin sliver of sun is dangerous."
A solar eclipse takes place when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned and the moon's shadow touches the Earth's surface.
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