A total solar eclipse will occur over North West Cape in Western Australia in the morning of 20 April 2023.

The eclipse is classified as a hybrid eclipse because it starts as an annular eclipse in the Indian Ocean before changing to the most spectacular of events, a total eclipse well before reaching Australia.

In the North West Cape area, at the town of Exmouth, the eclipse will begin as a partial solar eclipse at 10 hrs 04 min 32 secs (AWST) and reach totality at 11 hrs 29 min 50 secs (AWST).  Totality will last only about 54 seconds and the eclipse will finally come to an end at 13 hrs 02 min 34 secs (AWST). 

* The countdown timer above is set for Exmouth. Check the interactive map below for the exact times at your observing location. 

This rare and spectacular phenomenon is probably the most awe inspiring event in the natural world.

At the same time the whole of Australia will experience a partial solar eclipse –  a solar eclipse seen from within the Moon’s penumbra, where the Moon appears to block part (but not all) of the Sun’s surface (the photosphere).

The process of the moon moving across the face of the sun takes up to about three hours, but the brief moment of totality when the sun is completely obscured by the moon will only last a maximum of 60 seconds (depending on your location).

Observers at the Ningaloo Eclipse can expect to see the sun’s bright disc slowly being covered by the silhouette of the moon to produce a diminishing solar crescent.

Just as the last of the sun disappears behind the moon, two interesting optical phenomenon will occur, known as Baily’s Beads and the Diamond Ring Effect.