Will Pakistan get to see hybrid solar eclipse?

This year 2023's first solar eclipse, said to be a hybrid one offering a breathtaking sight, will be witnessed on April 20.

The phenomenon of hybrid solar eclipses is extremely rare, as they appear only a few times in a century, however, regular eclipses occur when the sun and moon align in an unusual cosmic setting and cast their shadow or block the sunlight.

The expected sighting of the eclipse has also been confirmed by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

In a brief statement, the PMD said that the eclipse will start early morning and end right before noon on April 20 as per Pakistan Standard Time, but it will not be visible anywhere in the country.

The different phases of solar eclipse will occur at:

• Eclipse begins at 6:34am PST
• Total eclipse will occur at 7:37am PST
• Eclipse will peak at 9:17am PST
• Ends at 11:59am PST

As per the PMD, some parts of the world will witness the rare solar eclipse partially and some completely. The phenomenon will be visible from parts of southern and eastern Asia, Australia and Antarctica, and over the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

April has been designated as "Global Astronomy Month" by a US-based organisation Astronomers Without Borders, as the month will offer mesmerising sights in the sky, as per the report by Popular Science.

The April 20 solar eclipse will create a ring of fire which will be witnessed for a brief time in the Indian Ocean but the moon will be covering the sun completely when it reaches Western Australia witnessing around nine minutes of darkness during the day.

However, this solar eclipse will not be visible in the US but just after a few months in October, there will be another solar eclipse which will be seen in the western part of the US.