Solar eclipse 2023: All you need to know about ‘once in a decade’ hybrid solar eclipse

A photograph of a total solar eclipse from 2017 (Image credit: @nasa/Instagram)

The first solar eclipse of 2023 will occur today, i.e., April 20. What makes the first solar eclipse of 2023 extra-special is the fact that it is a rare hybrid eclipse. It is one of four eclipse events that will occur this year. However, only two of these will be visible in India. Here is everything you need to know about the hybrid solar eclipse or the first surya grahan of 2023:

A hybrid solar eclipse is so called because it starts as an annual eclipse before transforming to a total solar eclipse – or vice versa.

In a total solar eclipse, the moon blocks the sun fully. In an annular eclipse, the moon appears smaller than the sun and leaves the outline of a solar ring. When both these types of solar eclipses occur together, it is called a hybrid eclipse.

A hybrid solar eclipse is a rare celestial event that occurs about once every decade. According to the Associated Press, the last one was in 2013 and the next one will occur only in 2031.

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The rare solar eclipse will cross over remote parts of Australia, Indonesia and East Timor. It will not be visible in India.

The lucky few in the path of the hybrid solar eclipse will either get plunged into the darkness of a total eclipse or they'll see a ‘ring of fire’ as the sun peeks out from behind the moon.

The eclipse path will swoop from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, mostly over water. For those viewing the total eclipse, it will last a little over a minute.

According to Al Jazeera, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in Southeast Asia, the East Indies, Australia, the Philippines and New Zealand.

It is not. One should not look directly at the sun during an eclipse without specialised protective eye gear.

The eclipse will begin at 7.04 am IST and last till 12.29 pm IST, according to Dr Subhendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Odisha.

Those outside the eclipse path can still watch from a distance: Some sites in Australia will stream the event online, including the Perth Observatory and the Gravity Discovery Centre and Observatory.

It will also be live-streamed by NASA here.