Hybrid solar eclipses are quite rare in Indonesia.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) revealed that in 2023 Indonesia will experience a solar eclipse. This solar eclipse is called special because it is solar eclipse hybrid, namely a solar eclipse that appears from some regions of the earth as a total solar eclipse, but in other areas it appears as an annular solar eclipse.
“The solar eclipse that will occur on April 20 2023 in Indonesia is a very special eclipse because it takes the form of hybrid solar eclipse which rarely happens,” said BRIN Space Research Center Researcher, Johan Muhamad, quoted from BRIN’s official website, Monday (1/30/2023).
Indonesia has experienced several solar eclipses, namely in 1983 there was a total solar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse in 2019, and a total solar eclipse in 2016. Johan added, the solar eclipse that will occur on April 20 2023 in Indonesian territory is an eclipse that rarely occurs.
In Indonesia, the solar eclipse will be observed as a total solar eclipse, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia. Meanwhile in other areas of Indonesia it will be observed as a partial solar eclipse. The solar eclipse will be observed as an annular solar eclipse in the southern Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
In the 2023 total solar eclipse, the path of the moon’s core or umbra shadow on the earth’s surface will pass through parts of eastern Indonesia. Johan explained, the duration of the total solar eclipse at that point lasted 1 minute 16 seconds. Most of the trajectories of the 2023 total solar eclipse will pass through ocean areas such as the Timor Sea and the Banda Sea.
“The land that is passed by the GMT route is part of Timor Leste and several areas in West Papua,” he explained.
He explained further that several areas that will be passed through a total solar eclipse in 2023, namely Fak Fak Regency, Teluk Bintuni Regency, Teluk Wondama Regency, Yapen Islands Regency, and others. The forecast for the appearance of the 2023 total solar eclipse in Biak starts at 12.20 WIT, the peak of the eclipse will occur at 13.57 WIT. Meanwhile in Jakarta the partial solar eclipse starts at 09.29 WIB and peaks at 10.45 WIB.
“We can observe a solar eclipse safely by using a telescope equipped with a solar filter, special glasses for solar eclipses, a DSLR camera with a telephoto lens equipped with a sun filter and through a pinhole camera. Remember, we cannot see the sun directly without using a special solar filter. ” he explained.
Johan said, a solar eclipse could be an interesting phenomenon for researchers in Indonesia to conduct research related to eclipses. Some of them include observing the solar corona, measuring the effect of gravitational lensing, the effect of a solar eclipse on ionospheric and atmospheric conditions and the effect of a solar eclipse on the behavior of living things.
“The 2023 total solar eclipse can also be an educational tool for Indonesian people, especially children, to study science. Apart from that, the solar eclipse can attract many domestic and foreign tourists to visit tourist spots that offer the prospect of observing an eclipse,” explained Johan.
