An eclipsed sun rises over New York City yesterday seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. - AFP photos

A solar eclipse was visible over the Earth's northern hemisphere yesterday with parts of Canada and Siberia privy to the best view of the celestial event. The eclipse was partial, which means the people in its shadow were not plunged into daytime darkness. Instead, people with the maximum visibility-and necessary protective eyewear-had a few minutes to glimpse the moon's silhouette ringed by the sun.

Pupils, wearing protective glasses, look at the partial solar eclipse in Schiedam.

In northwest Canada, northern Russia, northwest Greenland and the North Pole, the sun was 88 percent obscured by the moon. The eclipse was partly visible to observers in northwest North America, parts of Europe including France and the UK, and some of northern Asia.

Londoners were able to see the moon cover 20 percent of the sun at its maximum, at 11.13am local time (10:13 GMT). "The farther southeast people were, the less the sun was obscured," Florent Delefie of the Paris Observatory told AFP. Those who wanted to observe the eclipse were able to purchase special eyewear and the Observatory also broadcasted a close-up view of the event live on its YouTube Channel. - AFP