and 2023 will have four eclipses, two of the Moon and two of the Sun.
Remember that lunar eclipses can be seen for several hours and from virtually anywhere on Earth, as long as it’s at night, the Moon is above the horizon, and the sky is cloudless. Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are visible on a relatively small strip of the Earth and for a much shorter time, to observe them without risk to our health it is necessary to protect your eyes and never look directly at the Sun.
Eclipses occur when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are aligned in such a way that the light of our star is blocked by one of the two celestial bodiesthis can happen partially or totally.
Solar eclipse of April 20, 2023
The April 20th Here comes the first eclipse of the year 2023 and it will be very special because it is a eclipse solar hybrid. This kind of astronomical phenomenon it occurs only a few times each century, most recently in April 2005.
The types of solar eclipses are classified into ‘total’: the Moon completely blocks the solar disk, ‘Cancel’: the lunar disk only blocks the center of the solar disk and leaves the well-known “ring of fire” around it, and ‘partial’: the Moon blocks only part of the solar disk, but there is also the hybrid solar eclipse.
hybrid solar eclipse It combines the characteristics of all eclipses into one, with a rare Earth-Moon-Sun alignment. The eclipse first it manages to be annular, then it passes for a very short period to be a total eclipse, and finally it becomes annular again.
This phenomenon occurs because the Moon is at its limit point for its threshold shadow to reach the Earth, which thanks to its curved shape allows its natural satellite to completely block the incoming sunlight for a moment, and then return to the annular phase of the eclipse.
The regions that will see at least one partial eclipse this April 20 will be: part of Southeast Asia, Oceania, part of Antarctica, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The one known as “Ningaloo Eclipse”on the way to totality it passes North West Cape (Northwestern Cape), a headland and large peninsula located on the northwest coast of Australia. People who find each other on this remote peninsula of Western Australia, they will have a prime location. Unfortunately it will not be seen from Argentina, nor from anywhere else in America.
Lunar eclipse of May 5-6, 2023
It will be a penumbral eclipse of the moonthis means that our natural satellite only crosses the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, which is quite diffuse, therefore alone you will see a slight darkening of the lunar disk seen from Earth.
The second eclipse of the year and the first lunar eclipse of 2023 Will be visible from: Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, large parts of Europe and Asia, Oceania, Africa, parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Unfortunately, this eclipse will not be visible from Argentina or anywhere else on the American continent.
The “Great American Solar Eclipse” on October 14, 2023
It’s about a annular solar eclipsein this case the Moon is aligned between the Earth and the Sun such that the lunar disk covers the exact center of the solar disk leaving a thin “ring of fire” around the Moon.
This impressive natural spectacle it will only be visible along a narrow pathlike all solar eclipses, also in this case the road to cancellation will cross the USA. from Oregon to Texasso it will pass over the Yucatan peninsula in Mexicoalso for parts of Central America, Colombia and Brazil in South America, part of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In the rest of America it will be visible from From Alaska to central Argentinabut only as a partial eclipse of the sun.
Lunar eclipse of October 28-29, 2023
It’s the last eclipse of the year, it’s a partial lunar eclipse. Perhaps fully visible over Europe and most of Asia and Africa, it will be seen to rise over the eastern tip of the Americas and set over Australia.
To review spectacular eclipses from Argentina you have to wait a bit, but we cannot be discouraged because we have been coming for several consecutive years where the natural spectacle of eclipses has been the protagonist in our sky.
From Argentina We managed to see several “blood moons” in recent yearsthis phenomenon occurs when the Earth is placed between the Sun and our natural satellite, generating a cone of shadow that obscures the Moon while it is in its full phase and dyes it red in our eyes, hence the name. This 2023 does not have such a lunar show in its plans for Argentina, nor for any other point on the planet.
For our local readers somewhat disappointed by what this 2023 has in store for us in terms of eclipses, we remind you that in 2019, 2020 and 2021 there was the rarity that three total solar eclipses could be seen from Argentina, also in April 2022 it was seen in the extreme south. The good news is that for In October 2024 a new total solar eclipse will visit southern Argentina and Chile again.
Happy New Year, all the Meteored Argentina team wishes you.
