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A partial solar eclipse was visible on October 25 in parts of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and throughout western Asia. The size of the sun's shadow was dependent on where the viewer was on the Earth.

The best vantage point to see this eclipse would have been Siberia in Russia. That was where the moon obscured 85 percent of the sun.

The sky event began at 10:08 BST London time. And lasted till 11:13 BST in some areas.

No one in the U.S., Canada, or South America had a view of the phenomenon.

The eclipse resulted from a rare event. It happens when the center of the Earth’s Moon orbits almost directly between the Earth and the Sun. It creates a shadow on the sun or a sunspot. 

The moon's orbit around the earth is a 27-day journey. And it is slightly tilted when compared with the Earth's orbit around the sun. So, the Earth, Moon, and Sun do not line up in this juxtaposition every month.

The next time a solar eclipse will take place that can be seen from the U.S. is April 8, 2024. And the sun's shadow will be visible from Texas to Maine.

Amazing images (below) were captured of the event.

It is important to note that we live in a busy and complex solar system. And our view of a solar eclipse is based on the positioning of our moon. Other planets experience different eclipse views based on the orbits of other planets and moons in conjunction with the sun.

Martian solar eclipse  

On April 2nd NASA captured some amazing video of what the solar eclipse phenomenon looks like from Mars.

A video of a Martian solar eclipse was taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover using its next-generation Mastcam-Z camera. The rover captured footage of Mars' potato-shaped moon Phobos as it crossed the face of the sun.

The Perseverance landed on Mars in February 2021. And it replaces previous rovers Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. Although past rovers got some images of solar eclipses, they did not have the advanced technology video camera technology of the current robotic unit. 

Previous rovers captured a solar eclipse in black and white. Footage from the Perseverance is the first to show a Phobos solar eclipse in color.

About a Phobos solar eclipse

The eclipse took place on the 397th day after Perseverance landed on Mars and it only lasted a little over 40 seconds.

Typical solar eclipses that involve Earth's Moon last longer. This is because Phobos is about 157 times smaller than our Moon. And at that size, there can only be a partial solar eclipse. Phobos is too small to ever completely cover the sun.

Mars is a two-moon planet. And Phobos is the largest moon at 17 x 14 x 11 miles (27 by 22 by 18 kilometers) in diameter. 

Unlike our moon, Phobos is shaped like a potato. 

This moon closely orbits Mars three times a day. It appears so close to the planet's surface that in some locations on Mars it is not even visible.

Mark Lemmon, project director for the Phobos observations works with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado as a planetary astronomer. He is happy with the video images that are being, percent sent by the Perseverance rover. 

'You can see details in the shape of Phobos' shadow, like ridges and bumps on the moon's landscape. You can also see sunspots. And it's cool that you can see this eclipse exactly as the rover saw it from Mars,' Lemmon said.