Indonesia, Australia witness spectacular rare hybrid solar eclipse

Around 20,000 people gathered a small outpost to watch a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia’s northwest coast into brief midday darkness Thursday.

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

A crowd of people and other scientists, who travelled for hundreds of kilometers, had been gathering for days, in their tents with cameras and other viewing equipment pointed skyward to observe this spectacular rare phenomenon.

Hundreds saw the eclipse, partially obscured by clouds, at the Jakarta Planetarium in Indonesia’s capital.

Local media reported that the call to prayer echoed from the city’s mosques when the eclipse began – with Muslims saying eclipse prayers as a reminder of God’s greatness.