Incredible Views of the ‘Awesome’ Solar Eclipse Wows Australia and Indonesia

20,000 people had gathered in the small town of Exmouth, Australia on Thursday to watch a rare event – a solar eclipse! This special moment caused the sky above them to turn dark during midday. The beautiful scene only lasted a brief moment before it moved away and the hot temperature returned. Only 3,000 people live in Exmouth permanently but it was selected as one of the best places in Australia for viewing this special eclipse that also passed over parts of Indonesia and East Timor.

For days, people from all over the world had been arriving at a red and dusty plain on the outskirts of town. Lots of camera equipment was put in place with their lenses pointed up to the sky.

Don’t forget – exactly one year later, a total solar eclipse will move across America! NASA astronomer Henry Throop was among them at Exmouth and he shouted for joy in the darkness.

The Washington resident was incredibly surprised and enthralled. “It was incredible! It was so amazing, the sun looked especially bright and clear. And you could see the ring around it,” they said eagerly.

“It only lasted a minute but it felt like much longer. The view was amazing! I could see Jupiter, Mercury, and all kinds of other exciting sights which was so cool. It’s not often you can see a planet during the day, especially Mercury, so that made it really special.” Throop added.

Julie Copson traveled a long way, more than 1000 kilometers (600 miles), from Fremantle in Australia to Exmouth in order to see the eclipse. She was amazed and filled with emotions when she saw it and said that she felt like her skin was tingling. She was so overwhelmed by the beautiful view of the color changing and seeing the corona and sun flares that she felt like crying.

She said it was very powerful and the temperature suddenly dropped from 84°F (29°C) to just 75°F (5°C) when the moon’s shadow moved over the area.

Shane Varrti, who lives in Detroit, had been planning his trip to Exmouth for a whole year before this happened – and he was really excited that everything worked out. He said “All my work has paid off!”

In Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city, lots of people went to the Planetarium to view a partial eclipse. Azka Azzahra (21-years-old) and her sister and friends came too, bringing telescopes with them. Even though it was cloudy, Azzahra said she was still happy that so many enthusiastic people had come out for this rare celestial event.

At the start of the eclipse, a special call was made from mosques all over the city. This is because Muslims in that country believe in God and see this event as a reminder of His greatness.

Meanwhile, many people had travelled to East Timor and gathered on one beach in Lautem municipality. There they looked up at the sky while wearing special glasses meant for seeing eclipses clearly. Locals joined them as they watched this rare sight together.

Zahri Bin Ahmad, an astrophile from the South East Asia Astronomy Network of Brunei said that Timor Leste is a special country since it has less clouds and humidity. He hoped for a clear sky which is why many astronomers wanted to come there. Finally, when the sun and moon reached its maximum eclipse, everyone cheered in excitement!

Martinho Fatima, a civil protection officer, said: “This is an amazing thing to watch for us in Timor Leste!”

The eclipse could be seen from the Indian Ocean stretching across the Pacific Ocean. People who were lucky enough to witness it either saw a total eclipse which was very dark or else what looked like a ring of fire as part of the sun peeked out from behind the moon.

These kinds of events don’t happen that often – the last one was back in 2013 and it’ll be a while until 2031 for the next one. This is because Earth needs to be in a special spot where the moon and sun look exactly the same size from our view on Earth.

At certain times, the moon moves closer and completely blocks out the sun, letting us see a total eclipse. But when it’s too far away, some of the sun’s light still shines through; this is called an annular eclipse.

Kirk said, “It’s really strange you can see the moon getting bigger in the sky!”

If you miss this one, don’t worry! There are two other eclipses happening later on – one in mid-October and a total eclipse in April 2024. Both will be seen by millions of people living in North and South America.

The Big Big News Health and Science Department just got some help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. This means that the AP is in charge of all content.