WATCH LIVE: Partial solar eclipse - stargazers to see last eclipse of year in few hours

STARGAZERS will be able to see the last eclipse of the year in just a matter of hours as a it illuminates the skies tonight.

Partial solar eclipse: Stargazers set for beautiful spectacle tonightPartial solar eclipse: Stargazers set for beautiful spectacle tonight[Paul Marriott]

NASA scientists have said this eclipse will be the final opportunity for gazers to see the faint light of the sun's atmosphere - known as the corona - form into a crescent as the moon makes its way across.

The partial solar eclipse will be mainly visible in North America but UK gazers will be able to watch the eclipse on Express.co.uk below.

Space agency NASA and Slooh.com will be hosting webcasts of the eclipse event as it happens.

The eclipse will begin around 5.51pm EDT (9.51pm GMT)

Partial solar eclipse NASA's visibility mapNASA's visibility map of the partial solar eclipse [NASA]

NASA's Fred Espenak said there will be a 'fiery crescent" which will sink below the horizon.

He explained: Observers in the parts of Canada, central American and Mexico will have the best view because the eclipse is in its maximum phase at sunset."

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, leaving a crescent shaped sun behind it.

What the partial solar eclipse could look likeTwitter users are already posting images of what the eclipse could look like [Slooh]

NASA: Partial Solar Eclipse explained

So far this year, there have been two total lunar eclipses - known as Blood Moons - and two solar eclipses.

NASA has advised members of the public not to ever look at sun directly, even when only a very small part of the sun is visible.

WATCH THE PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AS IT HAPPENS LIVE HERE

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