Monday marks two events in the solar calendar - the official launch of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 for South Africa, and the first solar eclipse of the year
Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena will give the keynote speech at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town.
Across the country special events will usher in IYA2009, as the year is known, with even small towns such as Deneysville, next to the Vaal Dam, entering into the spirit of things.
Kevin Govender, of the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town, said the Mother City - where the eclipse will start at about 7.00am and be over at 9.30am - will have a maximum coverage of about 65 percent. In addition to making several telescopes available, talks on the eclipse and on the Square Kilometre Array (the biggest radio telescope ever) will be offered.
There will also be an opportunity to look at the McClean Telescope, the largest telescope in Cape Town.
From 7.00am, the Iziko Planetarium will mark the event in the Museum Amphitheatre (in front of the South African Museum in the Company's Garden).
Telescopes will be set up and, if there is sufficient demand, short planetarium shows will be given to illustrate what is taking place and how the full, partial and annular eclipses differ.
Govender said in addition to online Internet activity, a live webcast of the eclipse would be broadcast from Sutherland in the Karoo.
"Pictures will also be uploaded on to the observatory's website from collaborators across the path of the eclipse, including from the South African weather station on Gough Island," said Govender.
In Durban, people are being invited to bring picnic baskets and a blanket to the Botanic Gardens, where the eclipse begins at 7.07am and ends at 9.55am: the percentage cover will be 56 percent.
Members of the city's Astronomical Society will set up telescopes with solar filters attached so that the public can gaze heavenward without damaging their eyes.
In Musina, in the far north of the country, the maximum coverage of the sun will be about 23 percent.
Other places around the country marking the launch of IYA2009 and the solar eclipse will be the Cradle of Humankind and the SciBono Discovery Centre, Johannesburg; the Astronomy section of the Department of Mathematics and Sciences at Unisa in Pretoria; and the Soutpansberg Astronomy Club in Louis Trichardt.
The MTN Sciencentre in Canal Walk is offering a free visit for school classes, including a breakfast.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the guided eclipse viewing from 7.30am to 9.00am, and the talk at 9.00am, at the MTN Sciencentre.
People will be able to view the eclipse from the rooftop parking area of Canal Walk, and there will be a talk on understanding eclipses.
According to the Astronomical Society, this will be the best solar eclipse visible from South Africa for several years - so do not miss the opportunity.