Solar Eclipse Wows People Across The World, See Pics Of Rare Hybrid Celestial Event

Professional astronomers and amateur cosmologists across the southern Pacific donned protective glasses Thursday to witness a solar eclipse as the Moon blocked out the Sun for about a minute, in some cases totally. Parts of Australia, Indonesia and East Timor were plunged into daytime darkness, delighting curious onlookers. On Australia's northwest tip, the eclipse was total. Thousands rushed to Exmouth, a remote town on Australia's west coast, roughly 1,200 km from state capital Perth, to witness the event. 

Here are some pictures of the solar eclipse and people witnessing it across the world:

In Exmouth, stargazers parked their caravans, pitched telescopes and donned protective glasses to watch the Moon seemingly creep across the Sun's surface before the totality hit at 11:29 am local time.

In Jakarta, thousands waited in line at a planetarium to see partial coverage of the Sun through telescopes.

At Com Beach on the eastern tip of East Timor, more than a thousand people, including tourists and astronomers from Southeast Asian countries, gathered to witness the one-minute total eclipse.

The stargazers observed the rare phenomenon by using anti-UV glasses distributed by astronomy groups, while others lined up to use telescopes provided by the National University of East Timor.

While fun and perhaps moving for spectators, the eclipse gave scientists a chance to observe the Sun's corona, which is usually obscured by its bright rays.

Witnessing a similar eclipse once helped Albert Einstein hypothesise that light can bend.