APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe and other southern African countries will experience a partial solar eclipse on Friday, with experts warning people to exercise caution when viewing the event with their naked eyes.

South Africa’s Johannesburg Planetarium said the partial solar eclipse would be experienced in the southern African region in the morning, with the phenomenon more visible in some countries compared to others.

A solar eclipse occurs when the planet moon passes between the planet earth and the planet sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring earth’s view of the sun.

The partial eclipse is the edge of an annular eclipse that will be best seen from eastern central Africa and parts of Asia.

Experts at the Johannesburg Planetarium warned people against viewing the eclipse using the bare eye or ordinary sunglasses and cautioned against trying to take pictures.

“Do not use binoculars, cameras, telescopes - these amplify the Sun’s radiation and will blind you,” the experts warned.

Over Zimbabwe, the eclipse is expected to start around 6:19am (0419 GMT) and end around 8:41am (0641 GMT).