Who can witness the hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023?


The Sun is eclipsed for the first time in the year 2023, on April 20. The whole planet cannot hope to see this hybrid solar eclipse. The phenomenon is only visible in the southern hemisphere.

The first solar eclipse of 2023 is happening soon. On the night of Wednesday April 19 to Thursday April 20, 2023, part of the planet is witnessing a somewhat unusual solar eclipse. It will be a hybrid eclipse, which means that the eclipse is total and annular at the same time. This aspect will depend on where it is observed.

The French who will stay in France will not have the chance to witness this spectacle with their own eyes. The eclipse of the Sun by the Moon is visible only in the southern hemisphere, recalls the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Calculation of Ephemerides (IMCCE): โ€œ It begins in the southern Indian Ocean and ends in the Pacific Ocean north of the Marshall Islands. ยป

Where will the solar eclipse of April 20, 2023 be visible?

Here is where the eclipse is observable in its partial form: the Dumont-d’Urville Antarctic base, Australia, northern New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the southern Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, southeast China and Taiwan.

Few observers will be able to see the central eclipse, because the band of centrality almost only crosses maritime spaces. It crosses the Indian Ocean, the Timor Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The only continental areas crossed are part of Australia, eastern Timor-Leste and West Papua.

Visibility of the solar eclipse of April 20, 2023. // Source: IMCCE

A hybrid solar eclipse: what is it?

Concretely, what do we see during a hybrid eclipse? This type of eclipse is an intermediate between the total eclipse and the annular eclipse.

  • At first, the eclipse is annular, ” because the part of the eclipsed terrestrial surface is in the extension of the shadow cone โ€œ, indicates the IMCCE.
  • The eclipse is then total, because the part of the eclipsed earth surface is in the shadow cone “.
  • Finally, the eclipse is again annular, as at the beginning.

The total duration of this eclipse is 5 hours and 24 minutes. The following table summarizes the circumstances of the eclipse (Paris time).

PhaseHourly
Beginning of the general eclipse3:34
Beginning of hybrid eclipse4:37
eclipse maximum6:16
End of hybrid eclipse7:56
End of the general eclipse8:59

Hybrid eclipse or not, we never observe the Sun without protection

If you traveled to be one of the lucky ones to see the eclipse, don’t make this stay abroad a very bad memory by forgetting to protect your eyes. A solar eclipse is always observed with adapted glasses, or by projection (but never with the naked eye or even with sunglasses). There are tips for viewing a solar eclipse safely that we recommend you follow โ€” otherwise, refrain from looking at the phenomenon.


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