Rare hybrid solar eclipse witnessed on Thursday

A rare hybrid solar eclipse happened on Thursday, with those in the Philippines witnessing a partial blocking of the sun by the moon.

According toi Ian Cruz's report on "24 Oras", a hybrid solar eclipse is one in which a total eclipse is witnessed in some parts of the world while an annular is observed in others.

“‘Pag sinabing hybrid magkahalong total at annular. Unfortunately, hindi natin ito makikita 'yung nasa ibang bansa lang," said Professor Edmund Rosales of the Philippine Astronomical Society.

"Sa Australia lang 'yung total and the rest annular. Karamihan sa dagat naman. Dito sa Pilipinas, sa labas ng dadaanan ng eclipse, partial eclipse lang tayo,” he added.

(Hybrid means a combination of total and annular. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t see the total solar eclipse because it was only visible in Australia. The rest was annular. Here in the Philippines, we witnessed a partial solar eclipse.)

“Sa sampung taon, nasa 3.5% lang ang percentage na nagkakaroon ng hybrid, more or less every 10 years nasa isang hybrid lang,” Rosales said.

(It happens at least once in ten years.)

Meanwhile, eclipse-watchers trooped to the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory at the University of the Philippines-Diliman to witness the rare phenomenon.

“It’s my first time also seeing the eclipse from an actual observatory. I only used the makeshift pinhole before but now it’s a better view,” Kaye Cabahug, a student, said.

PAGASA reminded the public to protect their vision when viewing the eclipse.

“Iwasan ang mga bagay...halimbawa nag-improvise sila ng smoked glass wag po bawal po 'yun o kaya naman po gumamit ng negative films. Maaari pong madisgrasya ang inyong mata,” PAGASA Astronomical Publication and Planetarium Unit chief Mario Raymundo said.

(They should avoid using improvised smoke glass or negative films because that would impact their vision.)

The next partial solar eclipse will be visible in the country on July 22, 2028 while the total solar eclipse will be on April 20, 2042. —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA Integrated News