Bermudians are expected to get a glimpse of a partial solar eclipse on Monday afternoon with almost half the sun blocked by the moon.

While the island will not experience the full eclipse, referred to by some media as the Great North American Eclipse, spectators should be able to see a partial solar eclipse with the moon covering as much as 46.7 per cent of the sun.

The eclipse is expected to peak at 4.34pm, with the moon beginning it’s passage in front of the sun at 3.26pm and concluding at 5.37pm.

However, early forecasts suggested that weather may prove to be a hindrance to those who hope to take in the sight.

As of yesterday, the Bermuda Weather Service forecast predicted a mix of sun and clouds on Monday, with the chance of an odd passing shower.

Those who do wish to take in the spectacle were warned to take precautions to prevent eye damage, as viewing any part of the sun through a camera lens, binoculars or a telescope without a solar filter can cause severe eye harm.

The Nasa website stated: “When watching a partial or annular solar eclipse directly with your eyes, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses, or a safe handheld solar viewer, at all times.

“Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the sun. Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker.

“Always inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer before use. If torn, scratched, or otherwise damaged, discard the device. Always supervise children using solar viewers.

“Do not look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.”