Wearing protective glasses, Neza (left), 9, and Ula Pintaric, 11, watch a partial solar eclipse in Hyde Park, London on Friday August 1, 2008.

During a typical total solar eclipse, roughly 50 percent of the daytime world can see at least a partial eclipse, but only about one percent witness the moon totally blotting out the sun.

"On a scale of one to ten, a partial eclipse is of some interest," NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak said. "A total eclipse on that scale is ten million. It can't be compared to anything else. It should be on everybody's life list."

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