Look up on April 8: a solar eclipse is coming to North America.
The celestial phenomenon is expected to be visible from Mexico's Pacific coast before skies darken over Texas and 14 other US states. It will then wrap up over parts of north-eastern Canada.
Here, The National tells you all you need to know about the rare event:
What is a total solar eclipse?
An eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, entirely covering the Sun's face along a small path across our planet's surface.
This is called the “path of totality”.
The daytime sky turns dark, akin to dusk or dawn. Birds start to roost and nocturnal animals have been known to wake up, tricked into believing night has arrived.
In places on the path of totality, people will be able to view the Sun's corona – its outer atmosphere – that typically is not visible due to solar brightness.
People observing from outside the path of totality will see a partial eclipse in which the Moon obscures most of the Sun's face but not all of it.
What's the eclipse path?
According to Nasa, the eclipse will begin over the South Pacific, with its path reaching Mexico's Pacific coast at about 11.07am local time before entering the US through Texas.
Its path then takes it through another 14 states: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, a tiny part of Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, a small part of Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
The path then enters Canada through Ontario and journeys through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, exiting continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5.16pm local time.
A partial eclipse is due to be visible for people in all 48 contiguous US states, Reuters reported.
What are the best spots to see the eclipse?
Major cities and their metropolitan areas lay within or near the path of totality, making many densely populated areas some of the best spots to view the eclipse.
These include San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Fort Worth and Dallas in Texas; St Louis in Missouri; Detroit in Michigan; Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse in New York; and Toronto and Montreal in Canada.
How long will the eclipse last?
The full eclipse will last longer than usual because the Moon will be 360,000km from Earth, one of the year’s closest approaches. The closer the Moon is to Earth, the bigger it appears in the sky from our perspective, resulting in an especially long and intense period of Sun-blocked darkness.
Totality will last the longest over Mexico at 4 minutes, 28 seconds.
Elsewhere along the track, such as in Syracuse, New York, totality will last only 90 seconds.
How can you safely watch an eclipse?
Experts warn it is unsafe to look directly at the bright Sun without using specialised eye protection designed for solar viewing. Viewing an eclipse through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope without making use of a special-purpose solar filter can cause severe eye injury.
They advise using safe solar-viewing glasses or a safe hand-held solar viewer, noting that regular sunglasses are not safe for watching the event. The only moment it is considered safe for people to remove eye protection during a total solar eclipse is the brief time when the Moon completely blocks the Sun's surface.
Will there be a comet during the eclipse? Will other planets be visible?
During totality, some people may be able to spot a comet along with four planets: Jupiter will be to the left of the Sun and Venus to the right, and then Saturn and Mars will be to the right of Venus. Three other planets will be in the vicinity but virtually impossible to see with the naked eye.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is swinging past Earth, as it does every 71 years. It will be near Jupiter during the eclipse.
“There is lots to see and not that long a time,” Anita Cochran of the University of Texas at Austin told AP.
When was the last total solar eclipse in the US?
The US has not experienced a total solar eclipse since August 2017.
A “ring of fire” solar eclipse crossed a part of the country in October.
When is the next solar eclipse?
The next total solar eclipse will not be until 2026, when it will graze the North, touching Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
The next one in 2027 will march across Spain and northern Africa, with totality lasting 6.5 minutes.
North Americans will have to wait until 2033 for another total solar eclipse but it will be limited to Alaska. In 2044, western Canada, Montana and North Dakota will have front-row seats. And in 2045, the US will once again experience a coast-to-coast total solar eclipse.
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D5pm%3A%20Al%20Maha%20Stables%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Alfahem%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%20(jockey)%2C%20Ernst%20Oetrel%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20Al%20Anoud%20Stables%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Musannef%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Rasam%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Arabian%20Triple%20Crown%20Round%202%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(PA)%20Dh%20300%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Joe%20Star%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Helal%20Al%20Alawi%0D%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Liwa%20Oasis%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(PA)%20Dh300%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Alajaj%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20Dames%20Stables%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Silent%20Defense%2C%20Oscar%20Chavez%2C%20Rashed%20Bouresly%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
Aquaman%20and%20the%20Lost%20Kingdom
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20James%20Wan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jason%20Mamoa%2C%20Patrick%20Wilson%2C%20Amber%20Heard%2C%20Yahya%20Abdul-Mateen%20II%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20SQUAD
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
More on Quran memorisation:
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
