Thousands come to observe a once-in-a-decade hybrid solar eclipse.

 A rare solar eclipse plunged much of Australia's northwest coast into brief midday darkness on Thursday, accompanied by a temperature decrease, under a clear sky.

Exmouth, a lonely tourist town of fewer than 3,000 people, was marketed as one of the best vantage places in Australia to view the eclipse, which also traversed remote regions of Indonesia and East Timor. 

For days, an international audience had gathered, camped in tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain on the outskirts of town, with cameras and other viewing equipment pointing aloft. 

NASA scientist Henry Throop was among those cheering loudly in the darkness at Exmouth. 

Isn't it amazing? This is incredible. It was incredible. It was razor-sharp and blindingly bright. "You could see the corona around the sun," remarked the noticeably pleased Washington resident. 

"It was only a minute long, but it felt like an eternity." There's nothing else around that looks like that. It was incredible. Spectacular. Then you could see Jupiter and Mercury at the same time during the day, which is unusual — seeing Mercury at all is unusual. So that was really cool," Mr. Throop continued. 

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

"I'm so emotional that I could cry." "The color changed, and I could see the corona and sun flares," Ms Copson explained. 

"It was very strong, and the temperature dropped so much," she added, referring to a 5C temperature decrease when the moon's shadow engulfed the region. 

Hundreds of people flocked to Jakarta's Planetarium to witness the partial eclipse, which was blocked by clouds. 

Azka Azzahra, 21, came with her sister and friends to peer through the telescopes among hundreds of other tourists. 

"Even though it's cloudy, I'm still excited to come." "It's wonderful to see how many people come here with great enthusiasm to see the eclipse because it's so rare," Ms Azzahra added. 

When the eclipse phase began, the call to prayer rang out from the city's mosques, as Muslims offered eclipse prayers to remember God's magnificence. 

The hybrid solar eclipse traveled largely across sea from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The few persons who happened to be in its path either saw absolute darkness or a "ring of fire" as the sun peered out from behind the new moon. 

Such celestial phenomena occur around once per decade; the previous one occurred in 2013, and the next one will not occur until 2031. 

They happen when the Earth is in the "sweet spot," when the moon and sun are nearly the same size in the sky, according to Nasa solar specialist Michael Kirk. 

In a total eclipse, the moon comes closer and shuts out the sun at some spots. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon is a little further away and allows some of the sun's light to shine through. 

"It's a crazy phenomenon," Kirk stated. "You're actually seeing the moon grow in size in the sky." 

A number of other impending solar eclipses will be simpler to see. Both an annular eclipse in mid-October and a complete eclipse in April of next year will pass over millions of people in the Americas. 

By Covenant