document: Cloudy weather Saturday threatened to mar the show for thousands of Finnish and foreign skygazers hoping to glimpse a total solar eclipse in this land of the midnight sun . The weather forecast took a turn for the worse in the evening , when the Finnish Meteorological Services predicted cloudy weather with a chance of showers for eastern Finland on Sunday . In the eastern town of Joensuu , a television news broadcast late Saturday showed it was already cloudy there with a light drizzle falling . The solar eclipse in Finland starts at 4:03 a.m. Sunday -LRB- 9:03 p.m. EDT Saturday -RRB- . At that time , the moon will begin gradually moving between the Earth and the sun . The total eclipse begins at 4:52 a.m. in Helsinki and will last 83 seconds . After the total phase of the eclipse , the moon will move away , uncovering more and more of the sun . The eclipse ends at 5:45 a.m. in Helsinki . About 10,000 people _ including 3,000 foreigners _ have converged on Joensuu , about 50 miles from the Soviet border . There conditions there are considered especially good for viewing the eclipse _ weather permitting . In Helsinki , the total eclipse phase will occur 16 minutes after sunrise , when the sun is only 1 degree above the horizon . At Joensuu , 310 miles northeast of Helsinki , the sun will be 5 degrees above the horizon in the total phase at a better angle for watchers . The sun rises unusually early during summer in the extreme northern latitudes where Finland is located . The sun comes up unusually late during winter . Ten months ago , Joensuu hired an `` eclipse secretary '' to handle arrangements for the expected influx of visitors . But that official , Marjut Cadia , said she had underestimated the interest in the event . `` We completely sold out the 10,000 special eyeglasses we made for this event , and our extra stock is finished too , '' she said in a television interview Saturday . During the past week , newspapers , television and radio have been full of information about solar eclipses , as well as advice for spectators not to stare directly into the sun . Some eclipse viewers wo n't have to worry about the clouds , because they will be above them . Finnair , the national airline , has arranged a dozen special flights for eclipse watchers , and private companies with small planes will provide more . The eclipse will be total in an arc about 125 miles wide from the northern Baltic Sea and southeast Finland , across the Kola Peninsula and northeast Soviet Union , to the Aleutian Islands near Alaska . Scientists will conduct several experiments during the eclipse , including gravity test measurements of the radius of the sun . However , scientific interest in this eclipse has been less than in longer eclipses , such as the seven-minute eclipse seen from northern Kenya on June 30 , 1973 . Seppo Linnaluoto of the Ursa Astronomical Association said the best place for observations of this eclipse will be the northeast Soviet Union . The last total eclipse to be seen in Finland occurred in 1945 .
extractive_keyphrases: total solar eclipse solar eclipses finland watchers total phase observations special eyeglasses