This Friday, the moon’s orbit will be brought directly in line with the sun and a rare solar eclipse will plunge the UK into mid morning darkness.

The solar system is having a bit of a busy Friday

You might have already heard about this, but do you know that this eclipse is a little bit more special than the others?

The solar system is having a bit of a busy Friday, as for the first time in nearly 15 years, two other pretty awesome celestial events are happening at the same time.

Super Moon

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit.

Basically, when this happens the result is a huge moon, visible from earth.

As this particular supermoon is new rather than full, it won’t be seen. However, it will be gliding past us closer than ever and its shadow will be visible as it blocks out the sun on Friday morning.

Spring Equinox

While an eclipse is seen astrologically as a bad omen, a spring equinox however, is a good omen. It’s the sign of a rebirth and new beginnings.

The two collide at the same time this Friday. Over 100 druids are expected  to descend at Stonehenge to mark the event.

(If you haven’t already checked out the Stonehenge Twitter feed, you should – it’s one of our favourites.)

A spring equinox also means that the day and night are nearly the exact same length of 12 hours all over the world, with the word ‘equinox’ meaning ‘equal night’.

Pretty neat, huh?

(The equinox also marks a shift that means the days will start getting longer for us in the UK from Friday onwards. Bring on summer!)

The Cooler Guide To The Eclipse

Over in London-based Cooler HQ, we’ll be seeing the eclipse at its best at 9:45am, you can check on this nifty site to find out when you will be at the peak of the celestial event.

We know you know this already, but it’s worth saying: don’t look directly at the eclipse, even through dark glass or sunglasses!

The official astrological society has hilariously suggested using a kitchen colander as one way to see the event.

If that seems a bit much, a mirror or professional eclipse viewing glasses will also do the trick…

Happy solar eclipse everyone!