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The Western Australian town of Exmouth has witnessed a rare total solar eclipse.
The small town has been plunged in to darkness for the celestial event, as the sun, moon and earth perfectly aligned on the state's Coral Coast.
The community has been overwhelmed with eclipse hunters with around 20,000 people rushing to secure their spot, halfway between Perth and Broome.
"The moon is moving across the face of the sun," Graham Jones from the website Time and Date explained.
"The shadow of the moon is being cast down onto the earth."
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Exmouth Shire Council President Darlene Allston said years of planning have gone in to prepare the region for the influx of visitors.
An observation platform has been erected, and today special purpose solar eclipse glasses will be handed out to eclipse gazers.
"We have done all we can do to sort of deliver the safe event for all of the people that have travelled here today," Allston said.
"So it is going to be busy here and certainly all eyes I suppose will be on Exmouth for that 62 seconds of darkness today."
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Dr Karl Kruszelnicki said Australian's were "lucky" to witness the event.
"It is actually a hybrid eclipse," he explained.
"So for part of the eclipse it will be a total eclipse. For part of it will be a ring depending where you are.
"It is lovely to see the fingernail moon. The universe is giving us something for free. We are lucky."
Kruszelnicki added that staring directly at the sun is not recommended as even a brief glimpse can cause eye damage.
"If you can see any of the actual sun surface, turn away," he said.
"Do not look at it with the naked eye."
Instead, eclipse gazers are urged to use special-purpose "eclipse glasses" or hand-held solar viewers that meet international standards.
Alternatively, a pinhole projection through a large card can be used.
This type of viewer can be easily made at home.
So when will the eclipse start?
That all depends on your location.
In Exmouth, the partial eclipse started at 10.04 AM (AWST) with totality – when the sun was blocked by the moon.
Totality lasted 62 seconds.
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For the other capitals totality won't be achieved, however this is when the partial eclipse will begin.
Please note the times below are shown in relevant local time.
Perth: 10am
Darwin: 12.17pm
Adelaide: 12.30pm
Melbourne: 1.15pm
Hobart: 1.24pm
Canberra: 1.29pm
Sydney: 1.36pm
Brisbane: 1.43pm
When will next eclipse occur?
The total eclipse today is one of two eclipses to occur in 2023, but it's the only one to be visible in Australia.
On October 14 an annular ("ring") eclipse will sweep across western and southern US, Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Central America, southern Colombia and northern Brazil.
The next total solar eclipse to be observed in Australia will be on July 22, 2028, which will cross from the Kimberley to Sydney.
The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2012 and plunged Cairns into darkness, while WA's last total solar eclipse was in 1974.
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