A partial solar eclipse, in which part of the sun’s disk is obscured by the moon passing between the star and Earth, was observed across Japan on Sunday morning.

In many parts of the country, the sun was seen starting to be blocked between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., according to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The area of the sun’s disk obscured by the moon was the largest around 10 a.m. The astronomical event ended between 11 a.m. and noon.

Up to 40 percent of the sun’s disk was seen missing in Hokkaido, up to 30 percent in the Kanto region including Tokyo, and up to 20 percent in the Kyushu region.

It was the first solar eclipse seen in Japan since March 9, 2016, when a partial eclipse occurred in the morning.

Observation events were held at such facilities as Kodomo Yugakukan, a children’s museum in the Hokkaido city of Kushiro, the Sendai Astronomical Observatory and the Miyazaki Science Center.

At Kodomo Yugakukan, special glasses and telescopes were made available for observing the solar eclipse.

“The weather was fine, and some 60 people, including parents and children, joyfully observed the solar eclipse,” said Koichi Tago, a 44-year-old curator at the museum.

The next time a partial solar eclipse will be visible in the country will be the afternoon of Dec. 26 this year.Speech