Total solar eclipse: emotions sky-high in Australia as thousands travel from across the globe to witness event

Eclipse-watchers gathered in Western Australia’s Ningaloo region describe ‘eerie’ scenes as the moon crosses in front of the sun

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Thousands of sightseers gathered in Western Australia’s red dirt as a total solar eclipse plunged day into darkness for one minute during the rare celestial event.

The total eclipse fell across the North West Cape in WA’s north about 11.29am AWST (1.29pm AEST) when the moon completely blocked the sun for a minute after temperatures dropped suddenly by 5C.