A Viewer's Guide: Hybrid Solar Eclipse On April 20

Jun, 2023 - by CMI

This week, an incredibly unusual kind of solar eclipse will take place, but it won't be seen in the United States – only online.

The Weather Channel reports hybrid total eclipse happens a few times a century, will commence at 9:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday and will be visible from Western Australia and the South Pacific. The Weather Channel reported that although the solar eclipse will pass through the Indian Ocean, it won't cross or be seen in India or the Indian subcontinent. Some people will experience a total eclipse while others experience an annular, or "ring of fire," eclipse, the hybrid eclipse is unique.  NASA.com claims a hybrid eclipse happens because the Earth's surface is curved.

According to Space.com, hybrid eclipses make up just 4.8% of all eclipses. According to the website, just seven of these are anticipated to occur in the twenty-first century. The United States, Mexico, the United States, and Canada will all see a total solar eclipse in less than a year. According to the news site EarthSky, the hybrid solar eclipse, which may be seen in Australia, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia (West Papua and Papua), starts at 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday and finishes around 2 a.m. EDT Thursday.

The website says the greatest place to view the complete eclipse will be off the coast of Timor at around 12:15 a.m. EDT on Thursday, lasting one minute and sixteen seconds. Exmouth, on the North West Cape, is the greatest population center in Western Australia to witness the eclipse in its entirety. According to Space.com, it will experience a total eclipse for 57 seconds starting at 11:29 a.m. local time. According to EarthSky, a partial solar eclipse will also be visible at the same time in Australia, New Zealand, southeast Asia, the East Indies, and the Philippines from Wednesday about 9:30 p.m. EDT through Thursday at 3 a.m. EDT.

 The last hybrid solar eclipse, according to The Weather Channel, took place in November 2013. The following one happens in November 2031, while the following one isn't until March 2164.