Calay News
Thousands of people gathered in Exmouth, a remote town in Western Australia, to witness a rare solar eclipse. The event was part of a hybrid eclipse that occurs only a few times a century, and it began at sunrise in the Indian Ocean and ended at sunset in the Pacific.
Observers at different points along the eclipse’s path were able to witness its various phases, with some seeing a total solar eclipse and others seeing annular or partial eclipses. The best views were available to people living in Western Australia, Timor-Leste, and West Papua. Only those on the Exmouth Peninsula were able to experience the total solar eclipse, which lasted for about 60 seconds at 11:27 local time.
The town’s population, which is normally just under 3,000, swelled sevenfold with all the stargazers who had come to witness the event. Tourists and scientists cheered as the temperature dropped, the sky turned dark, and the stars came out. Many described the eclipse as a surreal or almost religious experience, and some even cried with emotion. The last hybrid solar eclipse took place in November 2013, and NASA expects the next one to occur in 2031.
