It is solar eclipse 2018 and Friday the 13th: What you should know

New Delhi, July 13: Sky gazers are all set to witness the second eclipse of the season - a partial solar eclipse today.

During the partial eclipse, Earth will pass through the moon's wide shadow cone, known as the penumbra, and a sliver of the sun will vanish into darkness.

Here are the interesting facts

On July 13, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from the southeastern coast of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand's Stewart Island, as well as the northern coast of Antarctica.

The solar eclipse will begin at 7:18am and end at 8:13am (IST). This partial eclipse's duration will be one hour 4 minutes.

This Friday, the new moon will officially reach perigee the nearest to Earth -- getting as close as 222,097 miles to the earth which is 31,000 miles closer than the moon will be at apogee -- which is the farthest point.

Earth has not seen a solar eclipse fall on a Friday the 13th since December 1974.

We won't have another solar eclipse landing on a Friday the 13th until the year 2080.

Interestingly, all the solar eclipses on Friday the 13th -- in 1974, 2018 and 2080 are partial eclipses.

The Sun will see a 34% eclipse of its total area.

The partial solar eclipse on July 13 2018 will be followed by the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century on July 27, 2018, while on July 31, Mars will come closest to Earth.

Looking directly at the Sun, even for just a few seconds, can cause permanent damage to the retina of the eye. The intense visible and invisible radiation that the photosphere of the Sun emits is dangerous and exposure to these rays can result in impairment of vision.

Viewing the Sun's disk through any kind of optical aid (binoculars, a telescope, or even an optical camera viewfinder) is extremely hazardous and can cause irreversible eye damage within a fraction of a second.