‘Awesome‘ solar eclipse wows viewers in Australia, Indonesia

The northwest Australian coastal town of Exmouth enjoyed a rare total solar eclipse that plunged the region into darkness for about a minute late Thursday morning.

Around 20,000 eclipse chasers gathered under a cloudless sky in the northwest Australian coastal town of Exmouth to enjoy a rare total solar eclipse that plunged the region into darkness for about a minute late Thursday morning.

The remote tourist town with fewer than 3,000 residents was promoted as one of the best vantage points in Australia to see the eclipse that also crosses remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor.

An international crowd had been gathering at Exmouth for days, camping in tents and trailers on a red, dusty plain on the edge of town with cameras and other viewing equipment pointed skyward.

In Indonesia's capital, hundreds came to the Jakarta Planetarium to see the partial eclipse, obscured by clouds.

Azka Azzahra, 21, came with her sister and friends to get a closer look by using the telescopes with hundreds of other visitors.

“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.

The call to prayer resounded from the city's mosques when the eclipse phase began as Muslims said eclipse prayers as a reminder of God's greatness.