RESIDENTS are being urged to stay safe during tomorrow’s solar eclipse.

While it might be tempting to look up as the skies darken, people are being urged to be safe and not look directly at the natural phenomenon.

The UK will experience a partial solar eclipse tomorrow as the Moon passes in front of the Sun, blotting out up to 98 per cent of its disc.

For many it will be the first in 15 years this has been experienced, but there is a chance that the sky may be partly obscured by clouds.

This means there’s a chance there could be a repeat of the 1999 eclipse, which was marred by clouds.

The colour still drained from the landscapes however, as the sun dimmed, so whatever happens the eclipse is bound to be awe-inspiring.

Dorset will see a peak of 86 per cent coverage of the sun, with the eclipse starting around 8.30am, with the sun clear again by 10.30am. The peak for Weymouth will come just before 9.30am.

Weymouth weatherman Bob Poots said he hoped the skies would clear for the event as he was keen to see it.

He said: “It may well be partially cloudy on Friday, maybe a bit wetter in the afternoon.”

Members of the Thomas Fowell Buxton Society in Weymouth, established to honour the work of the former MP are calling Friday's event the 'Buxton Eclipse'.

John Fannon of the society said the similarities between this eclipse and one described by Buxton in his memoir from November 1816 were 'striking.'

Even if clouds set in, residents are urged not to look at the sun directly, or use sunglasses to view it due to the risk of retinal burns which can cause significant and sometimes permanent loss of sight.

A spokesman for the Royal College of Ophthalmologists said: "The general public must remember that they should not look directly at the solar eclipse with the naked eye, even if dark filters such as sunglasses or photographic negatives are used, nor through cameras, binoculars or telescopes.

“There is no safe system to directly view an eclipse. Viewing the sun in such ways may lead to retinal burns which can cause significant and sometimes permanent loss of sight."

Eclipse glasses can be worn, as can a welder’s mask, or people can make a pin-hole eclipse viewer using a cereal box.