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Solar eclipse: Thousands flock to remote Australian town for rare celestial event Solar eclipse: Thousands flock to remote Australian town for rare celestial event
(about 2 hours later)
Thousands of tourists and scientists have flocked to a small Australian town offering one of the best vantage points on Earth for a rare solar eclipse. A rare solar eclipse has thrilled thousands of people who flocked to a remote Australian town for the best vantage point on Earth to watch it.
The sky over Exmouth in Western Australia will turn dark for about 60 seconds on Thursday, when the Moon casts a 40km-wide shadow over the area. The sky over Exmouth in Western Australia turned dark for about 60 seconds on Thursday, when the Moon cast a 40km-wide shadow over the area.
The total solar eclipse is part of a rare hybrid eclipse, which occurs only a handful of times per century. The total solar eclipse was part of a rare hybrid eclipse, which occurs only a handful of times per century.
Partial eclipses will also be visible across other parts of the Asia-Pacific. Partial eclipses were also visible across other parts of the Asia-Pacific.
This eclipse begins in the Indian Ocean at sunrise and ends at sunset in the Pacific, with observers at different points in the path of the eclipse able to see its different - or hybrid - phases. This eclipse began in the Indian Ocean at sunrise and ends at sunset in the Pacific, with observers at different points in the path of the eclipse able to see its different - or hybrid - phases.
Some will see a total solar eclipse. Others will view what is know as an annular solar eclipse - where the Moon does not completely block the whole of the Sun - or partial eclipses. Some saw a total solar eclipse. Others viewed what is known as an annular solar eclipse - where the Moon is too small to completely block the whole of the Sun - or partial eclipses.
People living in Western Australia, Timor-Leste and West Papua will have the best views. People living in Western Australia, Timor-Leste and West Papua had the best views.
But only those on the Exmouth Peninsula will experience the total solar eclipse, at 11:27 local time (04:27 BST). But only those on the Exmouth Peninsula could experience the total solar eclipse, at 11:27 local time (04:27 BST).
Exmouth - a reef-side tourist town 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) north of Perth - is normally home to just under 3,000 people. But its population has expanded sevenfold with keen stargazers descending on the town.Exmouth - a reef-side tourist town 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) north of Perth - is normally home to just under 3,000 people. But its population has expanded sevenfold with keen stargazers descending on the town.
As the Moon moves in front of the Sun, the gathered crowds will be bathed in curved shadows, then darkness. The temperature will drop, the stars will come out, and wildlife will start acting strangely. Tourists and scientists who travelled to the town cheered as the temperature dropped, sky turned dark and the stars came out.
"Animals seem to react to the dimming of the Sun as if it were an unexpected sunset and the end of the day," wildlife biologist Bill Bateman told the Australian Associated Press (AAP). Henry, who travelled from the United States, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) the event was "mind-blowing".
"Birds may stop singing and move to roosting sites, lizards may move to night-time cover." "It's only a minute long, but it really felt like a long time. There's nothing else you can see which looks like that," he said.
Couple Liam Dorney and Elien Wijns - who met at an eclipse in 2012 and have now travelled to Exmouth for their sixth - say it's an "almost religious experience". Couple Liam Dorney and Elien Wijns - who met at an eclipse in 2012 and have now travelled to Exmouth for their sixth - say viewing an eclipse is an "almost religious experience".
"It was so beyond us, and it just really encompassed everything," Mr Dorney told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). "It was so beyond us, and it just really encompassed everything," Mr Dorney told the ABC.
The last hybrid solar eclipse was in November 2013, and Nasa expects the next in 2031.The last hybrid solar eclipse was in November 2013, and Nasa expects the next in 2031.
Related TopicsRelated Topics
AstronomyAstronomy
EclipsesEclipses
Western AustraliaWestern Australia
AustraliaAustralia