Indonesians will have the opportunity to witness a unique natural phenomenon, the hybrid solar eclipse, on April 20, 2023. According to Andi Pangerang, a researcher from the Indonesian Space Research Center or BRIN, this phenomenon will be visible in Indonesia.
“Andi, quoted from Edusainsa, said, ‘Throughout 2023, there will be 12 new moon phases with two of them coinciding with the hybrid solar eclipse that can be observed in Indonesia on April 20.'”
Out of the four eclipses that will occur in 2023, two will be solar eclipses and two will be lunar eclipses. According to BMKG, the hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon, and earth are in a straight line. This causes the moon’s disk to be smaller than the sun’s and appears to be in the same place as the sun’s disk, making it observable from earth.
During the peak phase of the eclipse, the sun will appear as a ring in some places, while in other areas, it will appear to be entirely covered by the moon. The hybrid solar eclipse has three types of moon shadows: antumbra, which is a solar annular eclipse; penumbra, which is a partial solar eclipse; and umbra, which is a total solar eclipse.
Three of these types of eclipses will be visible in Indonesia, including the hybrid solar eclipse, the penumbral lunar eclipse (May 5-6), and the partial lunar eclipse (October 29). However, the solar annular eclipse on October 15 will not be visible from Indonesia due to several reasons.
Andi explained, “This is because Indonesia will not be affected by the antumbra or penumbra shadows of the moon. Additionally, the new moon phase occurs when the moon is still below the horizon in all parts of Indonesia.”
In addition to the hybrid solar eclipse, the peak of the Lyrid Meteor Shower will also occur in April. This celestial phenomenon will occur from April 13 to May 1 and can be observed in most major cities in Indonesia.
Each region of Indonesia will experience the partial solar eclipse at different times. For example, in Jakarta, the eclipse will last for 2 hours and 37 minutes, starting at 09:29:33 AM WIB. The peak of the eclipse will occur at 10:45:25 AM WIB and will end at 12:06:39 PM WIB.
In Yogyakarta, the eclipse will last approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes, from 09:26:41 AM WIB to 12:16:17 PM WIB. The peak of the partial solar eclipse will occur at 10:48:46 AM WIB.
Meanwhile, Andi noted that Jayapura will be the provincial capital that will begin and end the partial solar eclipse. In Jayapura, the eclipse will begin at 12:29:42 WIT and will reach its peak at 14:04:57 WIT.
The partial solar eclipse will last for 3 hours and 1 minute and will end at 15:30:54 WIT. The majority of Indonesian territory will experience a partial solar eclipse, but there are five districts in Aceh Province that will not experience the phenomenon, including Sabang City, Banda Aceh City, Aceh Jaya District, Aceh Besar District, and Pidie District.
