Solar Eclipse 2023 highlights: Latest images from the hybrid solar eclipse

The solar eclipse is pictured here, as seen from West Sumatra in Indonesia. 

A man is seen here capturing a photograph of the total solar eclipse.

As the Moon obscured the Sun, it took on this crescent shape during the eclipse. 

Viewing the eclipse through the colander, like this Twitter user did, is a great way to safely view an eclipse 

Partial solar eclipse through a colander 11 AM #Perth #WA #SolarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/vxNOvbAQ6B

— Dr Deepti Ruth Azariah ?x3 (@perthinent) April 20, 2023

Images of the hybrid total-annular eclipse taken from Exmouth,

Darkness has descended on the remote Western Australia town of Exmouth as a total solar eclipse formed. Read more: https://t.co/7M7cRNqv0f #SolarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/EjzuMN4YNk

— The Australian (@australian) April 20, 2023

A view, purportedly from the Exmouth Gulf, as the total solar eclipse happened. 

Here is the solar eclipse in real time from the Exmouth Gulf. #SolarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/5A583Z2E8u

— Chris Lewis (@a_film_maker) April 20, 2023

A near-total eclipse is visible in Indonesia now.

The hybrid solar eclipse is on its last legs and will end in Australia in a few minutes. 

There is only a few minutes left before the hybrid eclipse ends as can be seen from the image below. 

There is only a few minutes left before the hybrid eclipse ends as can be seen from the image below. 

The sun and moon are photographed near Exmouth, Australia, during a solar eclipse on Thursday, April 20, 2023. 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. (AAP via AP)

The hybrid solar eclipse is now receding and is now in its second partial phase. 

A woman assists her daughter to see through a telescope to watch solar eclipse in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (via AP)

Here is a partial eclipse through the clouded skies, as seen from Jakarta, Indonesia.

People use protective glasses to watch solar eclipse in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 20, 2023. The lucky few in the path of the hybrid solar eclipse would either get plunged into the darkness of a total eclipse or see a “ring of fire” as the sun peeks out from behind the moon. (AP)

The totality of the eclipse is over, and it has now gotten back into a partial phase. The sun has once again taken on a crescent shape, except this time, the shape of the crescent is inverted as the Moon continues moving in the same direction. 

The eclipse is back to a partial phase, as can be seen from the partial "ring of fire" in the below image.

The eclipse entered totality 

The Sun has taken on a crescent shape as the Moon is covering most of the Sun. Going into totality, the crescent shape of the Sun will get thinner and thinner, and the sky will get darker and darker until it is a total solar eclipse.

Today, the Moon’s “umbral” shadow, or the dark centre of its shadow, is only about 40 kilometres wide. This means that the path of the total eclipse will only travel a very narrow path on the map. This is also why the totality of the eclipse will last about one minute. 

If the Moon orbits the Earth every 27 days and the Earth orbits the Sun every 365 days, shouldn’t the Moon cover the Sun more often? Well, it is not that simple. 

The Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5 degrees relative to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This means that the Sun, the Earth and the Moon only align with the right conditions about once every 18 months to produce a solar eclipse. 

Imagine you have travelled thousands of kilometres to Australia to watch the hybrid eclipse as it happens. What if cloud cover ruins your view? While that would definitely be a problem for most viewers, it will not stop scientists from taking observations. 

Scientists studying the Sun’s corona during the eclipse will be using a kite to plan to fly a “kite” with a spectrometer a kilometre up in the sky to make sure that they can take uninterrupted observations of the eclipse. 

The joint MIT-NASA live stream of the eclipse from the western coast of Australia has begun. You can view it in the window below. 

While watching the live stream above, you may have noticed that the solar eclipse appears flipped in some telescope views, despite most of them being taken from nearby vantage points. This is because, depending on the configuration of the telescope in question, it might flip the image horizontally or vertically. 

The 2023 hybrid solar eclipse has begun, and it is in its partial phase as seen from south of the town of Exmoth in Australia, in the live stream above. Image credit: Time and Date

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth, completely blocking out the Sun. The total eclipse will be experienced by people at the centre of the Moon’s shadow when it hits Earth. The sky will be dark as if it were early in the morning or late in the evening.

If weather conditions are right, viewers might also be able to see the Sun’s corona or outer atmosphere. This is usually concealed by the bright face of the Sun.

During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun, but the three celestial bodies will not be properly lined up. This means that only part of the Sun will be covered by the Moon, giving it a crescent shape. During the hybrid solar eclipse today, viewers outside of the area covered by the Moon’s inner shadow will see a partial solar eclipse.

During an annular solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, but it will be too far from our planet to cover the Sun completely. Due to this, the Moon will appear smaller and will look like a dark disc superimposed on the bright disc of the Sun, creating a “ring of fire” effect. 

The total and annular eclipses will be visible between 8.59 AM IST and 9.05 AM IST on April 20 in Australia, according to In the Sky. They will be visible in East Timor between 9.49 AM IST and 9.52 AM IST. Parts of Indonesia will be able to view the eclipse between 9.53 AM IST and 10.28 AM IST. 

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in many other parts of the world as can be seen in the chart below. All times in the chart are UTC (or GMT)

If you are in one of the regions where the eclipse is visible, you need to be careful about viewing it. Looking at the Sun directly during an eclipse is as dangerous as looking at it otherwise: it can cause permanent eye damage within seconds.

The only safe way to look at the Sun during an eclipse is by using special-purpose solar filters like eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers, according to the US National Park Service. It is also important to not look at the eclipse through unfiltered telescopes or binoculars. This will concentrate the solar rays into your eyes, causing serious injury, including permanent blindness. 

In the below map from the astronomy website In the Sky, you can see the contours along the world map where some part of the eclipse, partial, annular or total, will be visible. 

Solar eclipses aren’t exactly rare. There are between two to five solar eclipses each year, with a total solar eclipse taking place once every 18 months or so, according to the UK Natural History Museum. 

But as per The Guardian, it takes about 375 years for a solar eclipse to happen again at the same point.