Stargazers pack up after solar eclipse stuns

Stargazers from around the globe are packing up in Western Australia's remote north after being stunned by a rare total solar eclipse that turned day into night.

The celestial phenomenon fell across the North West Cape in WA at 11.29am AWST (1.29pm AEST) on Thursday when the moon completely blocked the sun for about a minute.

Temperatures dropped and darkness grew as moon covered sun, revealing stars and a halo of brightness amid an "otherworldly" light.

Some onlookers shouted for joy and others cried before silence fell across the huge crowd as they marvelled at the the sun and moon in perfect alignment.

An estimated 20,000 people travelled to the region from around the world to witness the event at towns and outback cattle stations amid a festival atmosphere.

Visitors and locals kicked on across the region at a sold out gala dinner in Exmouth, a foreshore party in Onslow and a symphony orchestra event in Carnarvon.

The town of Exmouth's population swelled from about 2800 to more than 10,000 as visitors pitched tents in front yards and on dusty blocks of vacant land.

Japanese eclipse chaser Kaori Zaitsu travelled to WA with eight friends to see their first total eclipse.

"We've been planning for a year," she said.

The group plans to drive south in their rented cars to Shark Bay to see more wonders during their first visit to the state.

Schoolgirl Georgie Gibbs and her family set up their camper trailer at Bullara Station, about 100 kilometres south of Exmouth.

They plan to stay in the region for a few more days to swim with Whale Sharks on Ningaloo Reef.

"It was a really cool. It looked like the moon was fire," she said after the eclipse.

"It made me realise how small we are in the universe."

The spectacle was reported and beamed across the world, streamed live on the web and generated millions of social media posts.

 The Perth Observatory website crashed as people logged on to watch a live stream of the eclipse.

The observatory turned to Facebook to stream footage of the phenomenon.

"Thanks for visiting our website. You all crashed it," the observatory posted.

This AAP article was made possible by support from the Minderoo Foundation.