The stunning total solar eclipse in Australia – the first visible in 10-years for them – cast its 95-mile wide shadow starting at dawn in the Northern Territory and then crossed the northeast tip of the country before heading east across the South Pacific. Continue reading for the video and more information.
No islands are in its direct path, so northern Australia is the only land where the full eclipse could be seen, said Geoff Wyatt, an astronomer with Sydney Observatory. A partial eclipse was expected to be visible from east Indonesia, the eastern half of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and southern parts of Chile and Argentina.
Totality – the darkness that happens at the peak of the eclipse – lasted just over two minutes. Among those sweating out the forecast was U.S. astronomer Jay Pasachoff, who traveled to Australia in hopes of viewing his 56th solar eclipse.
