“Hybrid Solar Eclipse” occurs when regions lying along the central path of the eclipse witness two “faces” of the Sun being obscured.
During the special solar eclipse on April 20, you may hear many people from various countries and territories capturing photos and reporting on the eclipse with two different shapes.
This could be a total solar eclipse in which the Sun is completely “eaten” by the Moon, creating a fully darkened stellar body surrounded by a mystical halo.
However, other locations will report a ring-shaped solar eclipse, where the darkened Sun is encircled by a bright ring.
The culprit behind this phenomenon is Earth itself.
The curvature of Earth’s surface causes the solar eclipse to be visible in different forms each time it occurs, depending on which shadow of the Moon is cast upon Earth – (Photo: DATE AND TIME).
According to Date and Time, this happens when the path of the solar eclipse allows people in the central band (the area where a total solar eclipse can be observed) to look at the Sun and Moon from varying distances due to the curvature of Earth’s surface.
In other words, this phenomenon occurs only when the eclipse path spans multiple latitudes.
The central band of this eclipse stretches from a location over the ocean near the midpoint of the diagonal connecting Cape of Good Hope in Africa to the coast of Antarctica below Australia, reaching up to Pacific islands tilted toward the East-Northeast of Indonesia, covering a wide range of latitudes.
Path of the eclipse on April 20 – (Photo: DATE AND TIME).
Therefore, vessels drifting at the junction of the Indian and Southern Oceans may have a rare opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse with the Sun completely shrouded in darkness.
This eclipse will quickly transition to a ring shape as it moves towards Australia, allowing residents in some regions of Australia, East Timor, and Indonesia to view a ring-shaped eclipse.
Other countries and regions, including Vietnam, unfortunately will not witness either a total or ring-shaped eclipse as they do not lie within the central band.
However, part of our country remains in an area where the eclipse can be seen at a significant angle, meaning that a partial eclipse will be observed, revealing a “third face” of the hybrid solar eclipse, where the Moon only “eats” a small portion of the Sun.
This eclipse will appear quite faint when viewed from Vietnam since we are located in the lowest coverage area, with only the central and southern regions partially observable.
