THOUSANDS of locals, tourists and eclipse chasers in Far North Queensland are hoping for clear skies as they prepare for Australia's first total solar eclipse in a decade.
For three hours tomorrow morning the sun, moon and our planet align to create one of the most spectacular sights on Earth.
If skies are clear, eclipse junkies from around the world will see the sun blotted out by the moon at 06:39 local time.
By a remarkable celestial coincidence, the sun is 400 times wider than the moon, but also 400 times farther away, so for those on the coastline between Cairns and Port Douglas tomorrow, the discs will appear to match in size.
Scroll down to see an interactive on the total solar eclipse
Casting a shadow 150km wide, the eclipse begins over the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, moves eastwards across the Gulf of Carpentaria and then crosses Queensland shortly after dawn.
More than 50,000 tourists from Europe, Asia and the US have traveled to the far north to enjoy two minutes of “totality” – weather dependent.
Hotels are completely full, cruise liners are moored offshore and forty hot air balloons will take to the sky above the Atherton Tableland.
Solar Eclipse FNQ
Solar eclipse FNQ: in the final seconds before totality, beads of sunlight shine through valleys on the surface of the moon. Source:Supplied
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, conditions won’t be ideal for eclipse viewing, with patchy cloud and isolated showers.
So eclipse chasers such as the Astronomical Association of Queensland’s Terry Cuttle are keeping their fingers crossed.
Mr Cuttle saw his first solar eclipse in 1976 in New South Wales. This will be his 12th total solar eclipse.
"It's just a fantastic experience, it's the most amazing spectacle," he said.
"There are all sorts of ominous, dark things that happen … it's like nothing you have seen before."
"Things start to look really odd and in the last two or three minutes (before totality), it really accelerates. It's like switching from day to night.
"You can imagine what people thought hundreds of years ago. Every society dreamt up some explanation."
Solar eclipse FNQ
Solar eclipse map: the path of totality across Far North Queensland. Maximum eclipse viewed along the red line. Source: Supplied
Amateur enthusiasts are being joined by scientists from around the world who will be researching the eclipse’s impact on north Queensland’s prolific bird and animal life, as well as one of the deepest mysteries of solar physics: coronal heating.
Solar Eclipse FNQ
Solar eclipse FNQ: at totality viewers will see a black disc with the suns glowing corona stretching around it. Source: Supplied
The sun’s corona or outer atmosphere is a million degrees celsius warmer than its 6000 degrees surface, and the few brief minutes of totality are a very rare opportunity for researchers to work out why.
After a 14,500km celestial trek across the Pacific Ocean, the eclipse will end 800km west of Chile.
A partial eclipse will be visible right down Australia’s east coast, across New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and the southern part of Chile and Argentina, according to Britain's Royal Astronomical Society.
As the sun re-emerges from behind the moon, 700 runners will begin the Solar Eclipse Marathon in Port Douglas.
In a nod to the far north's hippy past, an eclectic mix of DJs, techno and folk acts are performing at the week-long Eclipse Festival, near the remote Palmer River Roadhouse.
The eclipse is the first to occur in Australia since Ceduna in South Australia was plunged into darkness ten years ago.
Australian eclipse watchers will have to wait until 2028 for the next total solar eclipse visible from Australian shores.
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