Thousands flock to small Australian town for glimpse of rare total solar eclipse

Roughly 20,000 people flocked to a small, remote town in Australia late Thursday morning to get a fleeting glimpse of a rare total solar eclipse described by one lucky viewer as “mind-blowing.”

The phenomenon, which shrouded the area in darkness for about one minute, sent astronomy enthusiasts from across the world to the northwest coastal town of Exmouth, which was advertised as one of the best viewing spots.

A mob of people began gathering in the town, which has a population smaller than 3,000 residents, in the days leading up to the eclipse’s arrival.

People camped out in tents and trailers for days to get a chance to witness the celestial show in which the new moon and the sun are almost the same size and line up near perfectly in the sky.

NASA astronomer Henry Throop traveled from Washington to Exmouth to watch the eclipse.

“Isn’t it incredible? This is so fantastic. It was mind-blowing,” Throop told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It was so sharp and it was so bright. You could see the corona around the sun there.”

Those in the Australian town saw a total eclipse which causes total darkness for about 60 seconds.

“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. It was just awesome. Spectacular,” Throop said, visibly excited. “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.”

The eclipse also crossed remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor.

Hundreds gathered in Indonesia’s capital where they were treated to a partial eclipse.

The solar event was obscured by clouds, but people were still grateful to be able to get even a peek.

“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,” said Azka Azzahra, who watched through a telescope with her sister and friends.

Hybrid solar eclipses occur about once every decade.

The last one happened in 2013 and the next isn’t expected until 2031.

Millions of people in the Americas will get a chance to see upcoming eclipses in mid-October and next April.

With Post wires