Solar eclipse delights Queensland

Thousands flocked to Australian beaches to watch darkness descend for a couple of minutes early Wednesday morning. The eclipse was predicted to bring millions to the area's tourism industry. ??

By Staff,?Reuters / November 13, 2012

In this photo released by Tourism Queensland, people gather on Palm Cove beach in Queensland state, Australia, to watch a total solar eclipse Wednesday.

AP Photo/Tourism Queensland, Murray Anderson-Clemence

Enlarge

A rare full solar eclipse?plunged?north Queensland?into darkness for two minutes early on Wednesday, delighting the thousands of people who had gathered on the Australian state's beaches.

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In Cairns, the main city in?north Queensland?and a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, cloudy skies and occasional rain partly obscured the view, but elsewhere viewing conditions were more favourable.

North Queensland's tourism body and NASA provided a live stream of the eclipse, which was expected to give a A$75 million ($78 million) boost to the region's tourism industry with many people travelling from around the country and overseas to catch the best view of the celestial show.

Authorities warned spectators to wear safety goggles, noting the sun remains incredibly powerful even when hidden behind the moon.

While?north Queensland?was treated to a full eclipse?at around 6.39 am local time (2039 GMT Tuesday), a partial eclipse?was visible in other parts of?Australia,?New Zealand,?Chile?and?Antarctica.

The last full solar eclipse?visible from?Australia?was in 2002, an event that was only visible in the nation's south. The next one, to be visible from?Sydney, is not due until 2028.

($1=0.9584 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Tim Wimbourne in Cairns and Jane Wardell in?Sydney; Editing by John Mair)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/qjm8nOMH7A8/Solar-eclipse-delights-Queensland

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