Rare eclipse occurs over Australia and Asia

Under a cloudless sky, about 20,000 eclipse chasers watched a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia’s north-west coast into brief midday darkness on Thursday with an accompanying temperature drop. The remote tourist town of Exmouth, with fewer than 3,000 residents, was promoted as one of the best vantage points in Australia to see the eclipse that also crossed remote parts of Indonesia and East Timor. A total eclipse took place over Western Australia at 11.27am local time (4.27am BST) in an event that occurs only a handful of times per century. Thousands of excited spectators gathered in Exmouth to catch a glimpse. Nasa expects the next hybrid solar eclipse in 2031.