Ningaloo Eclipse: total eclipse to occur above Exmouth on April 20

A small peninsula more than 1000km north of Perth will experience total darkness for an entire minute during the day next week. Find out why here.

A small town in the WA outback will become the scene of a rare astronomical event next week, when a solar eclipse occurs above the skies of Exmouth, more than 1000 km north of Perth.

In what has already been dubbed the ‘Ningaloo Eclipse,’ in reference to the World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Coast the area is renowned for, the sun will be completely blocked out by the moon on April 20.

The event, which occurs globally every 18 months but infrequently on land, will mean the Exmouth Peninsula will experience “total darkness” for 62 seconds, as the moon’s shadow move across the narrow strip of land.

A total solar eclipse, which looks something like this, will occur above Exmouth, WA, on April 20. PHOTO: Martin George

“During totality, some stars and planets become visible, the air temperature drops and animals may change their behaviour,” the eclipse’s official website explains.

The most visually dramatic aspect of the eclipse will be the white halo glowing around the black shadow of the moon - an effect created by part of the sun’s atmosphere.

“It’s like The Rolling Stones record ‘Paint it Black,’ when you have this line ‘I wanna see the sun blocked out from the sky,’” WA’s Chief Scientist, Professor Peter Klinken, explains in a teaser video online.

“Total eclipses of the sun are very rare,” Professor Klinken said.

According to the Shire of Exmouth, the total eclipse will occur from 10:05am to 1:05pm, with the peak to occur at about 11:29am.

Originally published as Ningaloo Eclipse: total eclipse to occur above Exmouth on April 20