Skywatchers' Delight: Partial Solar Eclipse on the Horizon

Skywatchers take note: The first partial solar eclipse of 2011 arrives Tuesday morning.

The Jan. 4 eclipse will be visible -- weather permitting -- in Europe, northern Africa and central Asia, but North America will miss out on the show.

The eclipse will be visible first in northern Algeria. It moves to Western Europe, where Spain, France and Britain will be treated to a sunrise eclipse. The point of greatest eclipse comes in Sweden, according to NASA. The moon will cover 80 percent of the sun's disk in the northeastern part of the country, according to Space.com

It will also be seen in most of northern Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Eclipse watchers in central Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwest China will enjoy the partial eclipse at sunset, NASA said.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The percentage of the sun's disk that is obscured varies widely by area.

Experts warn people not to look directly at the sun during the partial eclipse without solar-filter glasses, noting they could risk permanent damage to their eyes or blindness.

"Children are particularly vulnerable as they may be tempted to take a peek," Sally Davies, the U.K. government's interim chief medical officer, told the Daily Mail. "We would urge parents to explain the danger to their children."

The safest way to view the eclipse is on TV or a webcast. Watching directly through a camera or binoculars isn't safe.

"Under no circumstances should people look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse," Davies said. "The risks of doing so are very real and could lead to irreversible damage to eyesight and even blindness."

In all, four partial solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses will occur this year, according to NASA.