Thousands Turn Out To Watch The Uncommon Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse

On Thursday, a rare solar eclipse that briefly cast part of Australia’s northwest coast into darkness at midday was witnessed by approximately 20,000 eclipse chasers under a clear sky. The eclipse also brought a reduction in temperature.

Exmouth, an isolated tourist destination with less than 3,000 residents, was advertised as one of the best locations in Australia to view the eclipse, which also passed across secluded areas of East Timor and Indonesia.

On the outskirts of the city, a large international throng had been congregating for days, pitching tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain while pointing cameras and other observation devices toward the sky.

One of the applauding crowds at Exmouth in the night was NASA scientist Henry Throop.

“Isn’t it incredible? This is so fantastic. It was mind-blowing. It was so sharp and it was so bright. You could see the corona around the sun there,” the visibly excited Washington resident said.

“It’s only a minute long, but it felt like a long time. There’s nothing else you can see which looks like that. It was just awesome. Spectacular. And then you could see Jupiter and Mercury and to be able to see those at the same time during the day — even seeing Mercury at all is pretty rare. So that was just awesome,” Mr Throop added.

Julie Copson, who traveled more than 600 miles from the port city of Fremantle on Australia’s west coast to Exmouth, said the phenomena made her skin tingle.

“I feel so emotional like I could cry. The color changed and seeing the corona and sun flares,” Ms Copson said.

“It was very strong and the temperature dropped so much,” she added, referring to a sudden 5C fall in temperature when the moon’s shadow enveloped the region.

Hundreds of people traveled to the Jakarta Planetarium in Indonesia’s capital to view the cloud-obscured partial eclipse.

Azka Azzahra, 21, came with her sister and friends to use the telescopes along with countless other visitors to get a closer look.

“I am still happy to come even though it is cloudy. It is happy to see how people with high enthusiasm come here to see the eclipse because it is rare,” Ms Azzahra said.

When the eclipse phase began, the city’s mosques rang out the call to prayer as Muslims offered eclipse prayers as a reminder of God’s majesty.

From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the hybrid solar eclipse was mostly over water. A “ring of fire” appeared as the sun peaked out from behind the new moon, or the few fortunate people in its path witnessed utter darkness.

The previous one occurred in 2013, and the following one won’t occur until 2031. Such celestial events occur around once every ten years. According to NASA solar specialist Michael Kirk, they happen when Earth is in the “sweet spot” where the moon and the sun are almost the same size in the sky.

A partial eclipse occurs when the moon is somewhat closer and completely obscures the sun. An annular eclipse, however, occurs when the moon is a little further away and allows part of the sun’s light to shine through.

“It’s a crazy phenomenon,” Mr. Kirk added. The moon is truly getting bigger in the sky as you view it.

Other solar eclipses that are coming ahead will be simpler to see. Millions of people in the America will be affected by an annular eclipse in the middle of October and a total eclipse in April of next year.