Next Thursday the sky will host a celestial phenomenon with the rare Hybrid Eclipse – a type of solar eclipse that shifts from annular to total and back to annular along the course of its path. This event will reach its point of totality in Exmouth, near WA where the moon passes between the sun and the earth turning daylight to darkness for just over 60 seconds. This is described as a deep black bullet hole in the sky surrounded by a ghostly corona.
First Nations people have been studying the skies for millennia, with research highlighting a detailed knowledge system shaped around the Sun, Moon, planets and broader relationships. It has been said that eclipses in particular hold a special significance.
The Wire’s Emma Wotzke finds out more on this celestial event from perspectives of both Western and First Nations astronomy
Image: Image courtesy of Unsplash: Jan Haerer
Produced By: Emma Wotzke
Featured In Story: Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy – Duane Hamacher from Astrophysics Centre for Excellence and School of Physics University of Melbourne , and
First aired on The Wire, Thursday 13 April 2023