The moon starts to block the sun during a solar eclipse over a statue of the Duomo gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy. Photo: AP

The total solar eclipse seen from Svalbard, Norway. Photo: AP

A combination of photographs shows stages as the new Moon blocks out the sun, producing a partial eclipse in the sky over Vienna. Photo: Reuters

People gather in Svalbard, Norway, to watch a solar eclipse. Photo: AFP

A partial solar eclipse is seen over Stonehenge in south west England. Photo: Reuters

A partial solar eclipse of the sun is visible next to the iconic Liver Bird on top of the Liver Building in Liverpool, northwest England. Photo: AFP

Students from St. Ursula's convent with refractive glasses on the Meridian line at The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, southeast London. Photo: EPA

People watch a partial solar eclipse through exposed x-ray film in Marseille. Photo: Reuters

A man uses a dental X-ray to watch a partial solar eclipse in Pristina. Photo: AFP

Young women watch the spectacle of a partial solar eclipse in Zurich, Switzerland. Photo: EPA

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima wear sunglasses as they watch a partial solar eclipse in Hamburg. Photo: Reuters

People use self-made instruments to watch a partial solar eclipse in front of a planetarium in Berlin. Photo: AFP

Two men watch a partial solar eclipse in front of a planetarium in Berlin. Photo: AFP

A woman uses a solar viewing filter to observe a partial solar eclipse in Vienna. Photo: Reuters

A young astronomer uses protective glasses to catch a glimpse of a solar eclipse in Berlin. Photo: AFP

A young child tries to watch the solar eclipse during a cloudy day in Turin, northern Italy. Photo: EPA

Students observe with the help of a telescope the solar eclipse in Kosovo capital Pristina. Photo: AP

A couple watch to a partial solar eclipse of the sun at the Centre of Lisbon Astronomy in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: EPA

People watch as a solar eclipse begins over the Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall, England. Photo: AP

People wait for the start of a total solar eclipse on a hill beside a hotel overlooking the sea and Torshavn, the capital city of the Faeroe Islands. Photo: AP

This sketch by Spanish astronomer José Joaquin de Ferrer, depicts the solar atmosphere, or corona, during a June 16, 1806, total solar eclipse. Before astronomical photography, observers depended on sketches of eclipses to study the sun's corona. Image: José Joaquin de Ferrer