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On Wednesday Night Or Thursday, The Moon, Sun & Earth Will Align To Create A Hybrid Solar Eclipse
On Wednesday Night Or Thursday In Some Parts Of The World, The Moon, Sun & Earth Will Align To Create A Hybrid Solar Eclipse
On Wednesday night – or Thursday in some parts of the world – the moon, sun and Earth will align to create a hybrid solar eclipse.
Two partial solar eclipses preluded this year’s starry spectacular, one in April 2022 and another in October. But this time around is unique – a hybrid solar eclipse is exceptionally rare, only occurring a few times each century.
Other kinds of solar eclipses – total, annular and partial – are more common. The last hybrid solar eclipse was a decade ago. A hybrid eclipse is when an eclipse transitions “between annular and total as the moon’s shadow moves across the globe” due to the curved nature of our planet, according to NASA.
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As it transforms from annular to total and back again during its journey across the sky, people in various geographies will experience the celestial phenomenon differently.
In a total eclipse, the moon covers the sun entirely; in an annular eclipse, the moon is farther away from Earth and therefore appears smaller than the sun; and in a partial eclipse, which is the most common, the Earth, sun and moon do not line up perfectly, forming a crescent-shaped sun. Unfortunately for people in the US, the hybrid solar eclipse won’t be viewable. To see the eclipse – with proper eclipse viewing glasses, of course – onlookers must be in Australia and Southeast Asia.
An annular eclipse will be visible in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while a partial eclipse will be visible in Australia, Southeast Asia and Antarctica.
But Americans, fret not – NASA, as well as the website Time And Date, will be hosting a livestream of the eclipse, which begins at 9:34 p.m. ET on April 19 and will reach its peak at 12:12 am ET on April 20 NASA advises in-person viewers to purchase solar viewing glasses, or eclipse glasses, that meet international standards.
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