Today, Australia will experience its first total solar eclipse in years.
Just a small fraction of the nation will experience a total eclipse — where the Sun will be completely blocked out.
That will be in the small town of Exmouth in Western Australia.
For most of Australia, it’ll only be a partial eclipse — where only part of the Sun will be blocked out.
The advice is that Australia-wide, looking directly at the Sun during a partial eclipse can cause irreparable eye damage.
Here’s what you need to know — and what time it will happen depending on where you are.
When is the eclipse?
It’s happening today.
The timing of any solar eclipse depends on your exact location, Tanya Hill, honorary fellow of the University of Melbourne and senior curator (Astronomy) at Museums Victoria, says.
Perth Observatory will be live streaming the entire eclipse from Exmouth from 9:30am AWST.
This means people can safely view the spectacle in its most dramatic form, wherever they are.
In Exmouth, the eclipse stretches across three hours from start to finish.
But the most dramatic part — where the Sun is completely blocked out — will last for 58 seconds.
Here are the times to watch if you’re planning on watching the live stream (or you’re lucky enough to be in Exmouth):
What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and blocks its rays from reaching Earth.
Eclipses are all about shadows, Dr Hill says.
But Dr Hill says there’s something that makes this year’s solar eclipse even rarer: it’s actually a hybrid eclipse.
And only 3 per cent of all eclipses are hybrid eclipses.
There’s more than one type of eclipse?
There’s four.
Total, annular, partial and hybrid.
Let’s talk about this year’s eclipse — a hybrid.
“What that means is that it begins as annular eclipse,” Dr Hill says.
“This is when the Moon is positioned directly in front of the Sun, which would normally cause a total solar eclipse.
“But a hybrid eclipse is where the Moon appears slightly too small to completely cover the sun.
“Instead, a thin ring of sunlight remains in view.”
Source: abc.org