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Where to See the Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023

On April 20, 2023 a Hybrid Solar Eclipse will be visible across Western Australia, Timor, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia.

Hybrid Solar Eclipses are a rare phenomenon. They happen when, due to the curvature of the Earth which causes a variation of the distance of the Moon from the observing point along the eclipse path (and, consequently, a slight variation in the apparent diameter of the Moon), certain regions will observe an Annular Eclipse while other regions will observe a Total Solar Eclipse (see definition on Wikipedia). The duration of the totality phase during Hybrid Solar Eclipses is typically quite short. 

In the case of the eclipse of April 20 2023, a total eclipse will be visible along the vast majority of the eclipse path, while the annular phase will be visible from the South Western Indian Ocean at the beginning of the eclipse, and the middle Pacific ocean at the end of the eclipse. The eclipse, visible about 40km south of Timor-Leste, will have a duration of 1 minutes and 17 seconds.

Through a much wider area, including the whole Australia,  Jakarta, Sumatra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines Taiwan and New Zealand, a Partial Solar Eclipse will be visible. 

The animated chart below (credited to NASA) represents the movement of the shadow of the Moon during the eclipse of April 20 2023. The large light gray moving circle represents the penumbra, from where a partial eclipse will be visible. The small black dot ay the center of the large circle represents the Moon shadow at the center of the eclipse (also called umbra), from where an annular/total eclipse will be visible. 

Movement of the shadow of the Moon during the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023 (NASA, Public Domain)
Movement of the shadow of the Moon during the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023 (NASA, Public Domain)

The chart below (credited to NASA) offers a comprehensive view of the areas interested by the eclipse. The red closed lines at the left and the right represent the sun rise/set curves; the main blue line represents the totality strip (from where a total/annular eclipse will be visible); the green lines are isochrones representing the position of the shadow of the moon in Universal Time; the cyan lines represent lines of equal magnitude (see Magnitude of Eclipse definition on Wikipedia), starting from 1.0 (inside the line of totality), going to 0 at the most external lines. The greater the magnitude of the eclipse, the larger the fraction of the Sun's surface covered by the Moon.

Area interested by the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023 (NASA, Public Domain). The blue line represents the totality strip, i.e. the area where a total eclipse will be visible.
Area interested by the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023 (NASA, Public Domain). The blue line represents the totality strip, i.e. the area where a total eclipse will be visible.

Observing the Solar Eclipse of April 20 2023 from Australia

Only a tiny fraction of the whole Australia will experience a total eclipse in April 20 2023. As shown in the map below, the totality strip of the eclipse will just pass through the Western coast of Australia, crossing Cape Range National Park, Ningaloo, Learmonth, Exmouth and Barrow Island.