New Delhi

For all the stargazers, the upcoming weekend will be an important one as it will be dominated by two celestial occurrences, that is, a total solar eclipse and a super new moon. The super new moon will begin on December 3 and the total solar eclipse, which will also be the last solar eclipse of 2021,  will take place on December 4. 

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The total solar eclipse will be exclusively visible in Antarctica. It will begin at 10:59am IST and the full eclipse will be visible at 12:30pm IST. Several parts of South Australia, South Africa, South America, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and Antarctica will see a partial eclipse.

While Indians will not be able to see the solar eclipse, NASA has planned a live webcast from Antarctica on YouTube and at nasa.gov/live.

Also read | NASA postpones ISS spacewalk because of space debris

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A total solar eclipse occurs when the new moon comes between the sun and earth, casting a shadow on parts of Earth. A solar eclipse has five different phases. The first phase is the beginning of the partial eclipse and the second phase is the total eclipse.

This is when the moon covers the entire sun.

NASA has warned against directly looking at the sun during the eclipse. The agency has advised using solar viewing or eclipse glasses. 

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Also read | Interstellar or underwater? NASA shares brilliant video of a cosmic reef

Super new moon will be observed in the night skies on December 3 and 4.  It occurs when the moon is closest to the earth.

People will not be able to see the new moon because of the alignment of the sun, moon and earth which leaves the side of the moon facing the earth in darkness.