Members of the public gathered at places such as Science Center Singapore to view partial solar eclipse, an unusual astronomical event, from Singapore's skies on Wednesday.

The eclipse began several minutes after sunrise, and reached its peak at around 8: 20 a.m. with about 90 percent of the sun being obscured by the moon.

A partial eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that the sun is partially obscured by the moon. While a total eclipse, which took place in Indonesia today, is where the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

According to local newspaper "Today", the last partial solar eclipse visible from Singapore was in 2013, but the eclipse that day was extremely difficult to view as it was over shortly after sunrise. Including those that have already taken place, a total of only 146 solar eclipses is expected to be visible from Singapore between 1700 and 2100.

The next solar eclipse visible in Singapore will be in 2019, said Science Center Singapore. People who wish to view the eclipse were advised to use solar filters or glasses. Directly look at the sun without protection can cause permanent eye injury.