Ningaloo ‘hybrid’ solar eclipse in April: Where, when, and how to watch

Neither a partial eclipse, nor a full eclipse will be visible to viewers in India but you will be able to catch a livestream of the event from a vantage point in Western Australia. In fact, it is called the Ningaloo eclipse because it will be best viewed from the Ningaloo coast in Australia. You can view the eclipse in the live stream below.

When and where will the April 20 eclipse be visible?

According to the Government of Western Australia, a total eclipse will only be visible in one town. That town is Exmouth, on the western coast of Australia.

In Exmouth, a partial solar eclipse will be visible for nearly 3 hours, starting at 3.34 AM IST on April 20, and going all the way to 6.32 AM IST. The total eclipse, on the other hand, will only be visible for less than a minute, from 4.29 AM IST to 4.30 AM IST.

Of course, these timings are only useful if you plan to watch the eclipse through a livestream from Exmouth or surrounding locations.

According to retired NASA astrophysicist and eclipse expert Fred Espenak, a partial eclipse will be visible in Southeast Asia, the East Indies, the Philippines, New Zealand and other parts of Australia. An annular eclipse will be visible in Timor-Leste and Indonesia.

What is a total solar eclipse?

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun while completely blocking the face of the Sun. It will be visible to the people located in the centre of the Moon’s shadow when it hits Earth.

During a total solar eclipse, the sky will become dark as if it were early morning or late evening. If the weather conditions are right, people in the path of the solar eclipse will be able to see the Sun’s corona (outer atmosphere). This is usually obscured by the bright face of the Sun.

What is an annular eclipse?

During an annular eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but it will be too far from the Earth for a total solar eclipse. Because of this, the Moon will appear as a dark disc on a bright disc. This will look like a “ring of fire” around the Moon.

What is a hybrid solar eclipse?

Since the Earth’s surface is curved, sometimes an eclipse can shift between annular and total as the Moon’s shadow moves across the globe. This is called an annular hybrid eclipse. For viewers in Exmouth on April 20, the eclipse will go from annular to total and back to annular again.