The view shall be out of this world.
On Wednesday evening – or Thursday in some parts of the world – the Moon, Sun and Earth will align to create a hybrid solar eclipse.
Two partial solar eclipses preceded this yr’s starry spectacle, one in April 2022 and the other in October. But this time it’s special – a hybrid solar eclipse is incredibly rare, occurring only a handful of times in a century.
Other forms of solar eclipses – total, annular, and partial – are more common. The last hybrid solar eclipse was a decade ago.
What’s a hybrid solar eclipse?
A hybrid eclipse is when an eclipse goes “between annular and total as the moon’s shadow moves around the globe” due to the curved nature of our planet, according to NASA.
Because it changes from annular to complete and back on its journey through the sky, people in several geographic regions will experience the celestial phenomenon in a different way.
During a complete eclipse, the moon completely covers the sun; in an annular eclipse, the moon is farther from the Earth and subsequently appears smaller than the sun; and through a partial eclipse, which is the commonest, the earth, sun, and moon don’t line up perfectly to form a crescent-shaped sun.
![Annular solar eclipse](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009854007.jpg?w=1024)
How to see the April 20 eclipse
Unfortunately, for US residents, the hybrid solar eclipse is not going to be visible. To see the eclipse – with the proper glasses to view the eclipse in fact – observers should be positioned in Australia and Southeast Asia.
The annular eclipse shall be visible in each the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while the partial eclipse shall be visible in Australia, Southeast Asia and Antarctica.
But Americans, don’t be concerned – NASAin addition to the website Time and datewill host a live stream of the eclipse starting at 21:34 ET on April 19 and peaking at 00:12 ET on April 20.
![Hybrid eclipse](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009853997.jpg?w=1024)
advises NASA viewers to purchase sunglasses or eclipse glasses that meet international standards.
Sunglasses are usually not suitable for viewing solar eclipses, and searching directly at the sun may cause “serious eye injury.”
The space agency also recommends indirect viewing methods, comparable to a pinhole projector that projects a picture of the sun onto one other surface.
![Partial solar eclipse](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009854010.jpg?w=1024)
![partial view of a total hybrid eclipse](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009854000.jpg?w=1024)
When will the next hybrid solar eclipse occur?
The one other rare eclipse of its kind is not going to occur until November 2031. After that, a hybrid solar eclipse is not going to occur until 2164.
On October 14, the solar eclipse shall be visible across North, South and Central America, according to NASA.
Next April, hundreds of thousands of individuals can have the likelihood to witness a stunning total solar eclipse dubbed “theGreat American Eclipse“.
![Total solar eclipse](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009854003.jpg?w=1024)
What does this eclipse mean in astrology?
Astrologically speaking, a hybrid solar eclipse signals a time of reform and alter.
This eclipse will begin the Aries-Libra eclipse cycle that may last until 2025. In line with the intensity of Aries – it’s a hearth sign in any case – the eclipse that ushers in the latest moon, signals the time to take risks.
“We face some catastrophic changes, definitive closures and unexpected beginnings as eclipses are the strongest impetus for change,” writes The Post astrologer Reda Wigle of Thursday’s out-of-this-world show.