An extremely rare solar eclipse was observed by people from all over the Atlantic Friday, March 20, as the Moon entirely blocked out the Sun.

Sky gazers flocked to remote islands in the UK and northern Europe and millions amateur astronomers and enthusiasts turned their gaze skywards across Europe, Africa and Asia for this once in a lifetime event.

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The Moon's shadow appeared south of Greenland around 0430 EST and spread eastwards to the Faroe Islands and the Arctic islands of Svalbard in Norway where hotels and lodgings were booked years ahead by tourists eagerly awaiting this total eclipse.

Fred Espena, a retired NASA astrophysicist residing in Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands some 200 miles from the coast of Scotland, said he's seen auroras, volcanoes erupting but he still considers a total eclipse as the most spectacular thing he has ever witnessed since each one is unique.

Skies over Torshavn were mostly cloudy early on Friday. The skies were, however, clearer in Svalbard where tourists were warned to stay in the main village to protect themselves from polar bears and the freezing conditions outside.

On Thursday, a polar bear attacked a sleeping Czech tourist. Jakub Moravec was transported via helicopter to the hospital and still hopes to be well enough to witness the solar eclipse after minor injuries to his face, arm and back.

The Faroe Islands has a population of 50,000 and 8,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to flock to the small islands to observe the first eclipse in 60 years. To date, some 2,000 people also made the trek to the Svalbard archipelago, doubling its population.

The last major eclipse occurred in Europe in 1999 with more than 10 million people witnessing this incredible phenomenon. This Friday's eclipse, however, is only a partial one that can only be seen in Europe and Russia and some parts of Africa, Middle East and Asia. Unfortunately, the rest of North America won't be able to see it.

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