ABERDEEN will be the best place in mainland UK to see a solar eclipse this month.

Space experts have said the city will be a stargazer’s paradise on March 20 when 94% of the sun’s light will be blocked out.

The eclipse, which will be the first for more than a decade to occur in the UK, will begin at 8.33am, peak at 9.38am, and be over by 10.46am.

The city will experience darkening and a drop in temperature during the eclipse’s peak.

A spokesman for tourism organisation VisitAberdeen said: “Aberdeen will be a stargazer’s paradise on March 20.

“It will offer visitors a bird’s eye view as the moon blocks the sun and casts an eerie shadow onto the land below.”

And to make it all the more significant, the night before will see the Earth and moon at the closest they can possibly be giving rise to a so-called “supermoon”.

Eclipses take place when the moon passes in front of the sun. The sun is 400 times wider than the moon but it lies 400 times further away.

Although nowhere in the British Isles will witness totality, a very significant partial eclipse will be seen right across the region, lasting well over two hours.

The last total eclipse in the UK occurred 16 years ago, with the next not due until 2090.

Even with the high percentage of coverage, people should still not look at the eclipse straight on as it can damage their eyes.