Science

Hybrid Solar Eclipse: Everything You Need To Know About This Strange Phenomenon

(CTN NEWS) – Solar eclipses aren’t all the same, but a hybrid solar eclipse event occurs only once every decade – and one is coming up in 2023.

What Is It & How Does A Hybrid Solar Eclipse Occur?

A hybrid solar eclipse is a very unusual and rare astronomical phenomenon and one that will take place on April 20, 2023.

There are three categories of eclipse chasers, most of whom will tell you if you ask them. Due to the moon, the first eclipse is the most frequent and least spectacular.

An annular eclipse of the sun, in which the moon blocks the sun’s centre but leaves a circle of light from the sun visible from within a shadow termed an antumbra

Happens when part of the sun is blocked, casting a shadow—the penumbra—across a patch of the Earth. It is often referred to as the “ring of fire.”

The third is a total solar eclipse, in which the moon fully conceals the sun’s disc and reveals the breathtaking solar corona, which can be seen with the unaided eye from within the moon’s deep shadow, the umbra.

A hybrid solar eclipse, which only takes place a few times a century, is an odd-fourth category of the solar eclipse. It combines the qualities of the other three while remaining elusive in all its splendour.

Thank goodness, the next solar eclipse that will occur in a country, A hybrid solar eclipse, will take place.

Here is all you need to know about the impending hybrid solar eclipse, which is thought to be the most stunning and intriguing solar eclipse ever seen.

Hybrid Solar Eclipses: What Are They?

Combining an annular and a complete eclipse of the sun, the former typically transforms into the latter before returning. Because of this, spectators located along the eclipse’s path may see several occurrences.

For instance, a brief “ring of fire” might be visible if you view a hybrid solar eclipse at sunrise or sunset. Totality can be seen if you watch the eclipse during the day, in the centre of its path across the surface of the Earth.

As a result, it is impossible to experience both an annular and total solar eclipse during a hybrid event.

Always use protective clothing when looking at the sun.

How Come Hybrid Solar Eclipses Happen?

When the Moon is almost completely covered until the umbra’s shadow touches the Earth, a hybrid solar eclipse occurs. The globe is spherical.

When the moon is at the proper distance from the earth, the anti-moon shadow moves over the planet and the sun experiences an annular eclipse because the peak of the cone-shaped shadow is slightly higher than the earth’s surface at the start and end of the eclipse path.

However, because that area of the planet is significantly closer to the moon than the rest of it, the crest of the moon’s umbra strikes Earth’s surface in the midst of the eclipse’s path.

Hybrid Solar Eclipse: Everything You Need To Know About This Strange Phenomenon

This illustration of a hybrid solar eclipse demonstrates how the Moon’s separation from Earth affects the shadow that is cast on the planet’s surface, from the light penumbra of a partial eclipse to the dark totality and antumbra, or half shade, from the throat.

When Will There Be Another Hybrid Solar Eclipse?

The Southern Hemisphere will experience the following hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023. At two distinct spots, both of which are located far offshore, it will transition from the annular to the total and back again.

Therefore, the Exmouth Peninsula in Western Australia (up to 1 minute), Timor-Leste (1 minute 14 seconds), and West Papua will be the only places to see this as a total solar eclipse (1 minute 9 seconds).

There is a fantastic opportunity for Bailey beads before and immediately following college. It’ll be audible.

Check out Xavier Jubier’s interactive Eclipse map to view the eclipse’s path and the eclipse timing for each location (Opens in a new tab). The eclipse is one of two that will occur in 2023.

Bailey’s Beads: What Are They?

The Baily’s Beads effect is seen as the moon’s final move over the sun during the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The last solar rays to pass through the Moon’s valleys before totality are Bailey’s beads, after the English astronomer Francis Bailey, who first noticed them in the early 19th century.

They could also be viewed as college graduations. Because the Moon and Sun appear to be almost the same size during a hybrid solar eclipse, Bailey’s bead widths are larger.

What Is The Frequency Of a Hybrid Solar Eclipse?

Between two to five solar eclipses occur annually, although just 3.1% (Opens in a new tab) have occurred in the twenty-first century (7 out of 224) Hybrid solar eclipses are eclipses of the sun.

Only 4.8% of the time from 2000 BC to 3000 AD, Solar eclipses are mixed-media occasions.

On November 3, 2013, there was a hybrid solar eclipse. Central Africa, including northern Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Congo, could see it as a total solar eclipse.

There have even been totals of up to one minute on cruise ships in the middle of the Atlantic.

What Is A hybrid Solar Eclipse Also Known As?

Hybrid solar eclipses are also known as annular, total eclipses, “beading” eclipses, or “fractured” eclipses. The latter terms refer to how long the Bely Beads displays are during these eclipses.

To distinguish them from partial solar eclipses, hybrid solar eclipses and complete and annular solar eclipses are categorized as “central” because the Moon appears to pass directly in front of the Sun.

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Science

NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power

NEW YORK — To save power, NASA turned off another scientific equipment on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft.

NASA Switches Off Instrument On the Spacecraft To Save Power

The space agency announced on Tuesday that 2’s plasma science instrument, meant to study the movement of charged atoms, was turned off in late September to allow the spacecraft to continue exploring for as long as possible, which is estimated to be into the 2030s.

NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, after exploring the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space or the region between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working years ago and was finally shut off in 2007.

The remaining four instruments on 2 will continue to collect data on magnetic fields and particles. Its mission is to investigate the regions of space beyond the sun’s protective sphere.

NASA Switches Off Instrument On Voyager 2 Spacecraft To Save Power

It launched in 1977, is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. It is now more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. 1 is more than 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) beyond Earth.

SOURCE | AP

Science

Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast

MIAMI — Hurricane Kirk’s waves could generate life-threatening surf and rip current conditions this weekend throughout the United States East Coast, as well as in Bermuda, the Greater Antilles, and the Bahamas, according to forecasters.

Kirk was a Category 3 hurricane in the middle Atlantic Ocean that might grow further but was predicted to stay away from land, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center on Thursday.

Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast

Kirk-generated swells were forecast to reach parts of the Leeward Islands on Friday, Bermuda and the Greater Antilles on Saturday, and the East Coast and the Bahamas on Sunday, according to the center.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect. The major storm was around 1,130 miles (1,820 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h).

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Leslie formed late Wednesday in the eastern Atlantic and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the following days, forecasters said. It was also not considered a threat to the land.

Hurricane Kirk Could Cause Dangerous Surf Conditions Along The US East Coast

The storm was about 540 miles (870 kilometers) southwest of Cabo Verde’s southernmost tip, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph), according to the center.

The storms raged in the Atlantic as rescuers in the United States Southeast sought for missing persons after Hurricane Helene struck last week, leaving a trail of death and devastation.

SOURCE | AP

Science

NASA Sends First Manned Starliner Spacecraft to Space Station

Astronauts on Starliner: NASA Image

NASA has announced astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit on the first crewed flight test of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heading for the International Space Station.

As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts launched a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday for an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.

“Two brave NASA astronauts are well on their way to this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing’s Starliner represents a new era of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a risky endeavor, but it is worth it. It is an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of space exploration. “Go Starliner, Butch, and Suni!”

The flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner has already completed two uncrewed orbital missions, including a test to and from the space station, as well as a pad abort demonstration.

Starliner Make Orbit: NASA Image

Boeing Starliner Makes Orbit

“With Starliner’s launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival in orbit, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is right on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “Everyone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable, ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.”

Boeing’s mission control center in Houston will supervise a sequence of autonomous spacecraft maneuvers while Starliner is in flight. NASA teams will supervise space station activities from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Flying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining occasion, ushering in a new crew transportation capacity for our agency and our country. We will take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces and remaining watchful until Butch and Suni safely land back on Earth at the end of this test journey.”

At about 12:15 p.m., Starliner will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Thursday, June 6, and will remain at the orbital laboratory for almost a week.

Wilmore and Williams will help ensure that the spacecraft is functioning properly by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and moving the thrusters, among other things, during flight.

Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.

NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change depending on real-time operations):

NASA Television channels will continue to broadcast the Starliner’s mission.

Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

12:15 p.m. – Targeted docking

2 p.m. – Hatch opening

2:20 p.m. – Welcome remarks

3:30 p.m. – Post-docking news conference at NASA Johnson with the following participants:

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing

Coverage of the post-docking news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

To attend the post-docking briefing, U.S. media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111 by 1 p.m. Thursday, June 6. To join by phone, media must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 3 p.m. Thursday, June 6.

5:50 p.m. – NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche will speak with Wilmore and Williams about their launch aboard the Starliner spacecraft.

Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Saturday, June 8

8:50 a.m. – NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams will provide a tour of Starliner.

Coverage of the in-orbit event will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Monday, June 10

11 a.m. – Williams will speak to students from Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts, in an event aboard the space station.

Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

Tuesday, June 11

3:15 p.m. – Wilmore will speak to students from Tennessee Tech University in an event aboard the space station.

Coverage of the Earth to space call will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.