Cheers erupted and tears flowed as thousands of sightseers gathered in Western Australia’s red dirt to watch a total solar eclipse plunge day into darkness.

The phenomenon fell across the North West Cape in WA at 11.29am AWST (1.29pm AEST) 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.

First time eclipse chaser Julie Copson said it was an emotional experience and tears had formed in her eyes as she looked skyward.

“My skin was tingling. The colour changed and I could see sun’s corona and solar flares,” she told AAP.

“It was so beautiful.”

Perth schoolgirl Georgie Gibbs said it was a “really cool” but a little “eerie”.

“It looked like the moon was fire,” she said.

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

The eclipse lasted about three hours as the moon passed between the sun and earth as a partial then total eclipse, casting a 40km-wide shadow over the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo reef region that could be seen as it swept across the hill of the Cape Range National Park.

As the partial eclipse started Lois Polatnick from Chicago described her excitement.

“The moon is taking a bite out of the sun as we enter the shadow of the moon,” she said.

“My favourite parts are the diamond ring and solar flares.”

Detroit man Shane Varrti, who has seen five eclipses, said he had started to plan his trip a year ago.

“It’s very exciting. All this effort has come to fruition,” he said.

Astrophysicist Melanie Johnston-Hollitt watched her first total eclipse, describing it as an “astonishing” experience.

“The pictures cannot adequately capture the experience of the temperature dropping and the light dimming,” she said.

“When you see the sun’s corona clearly and stars and planets … it is an event you need to experience to truly understand.”

Cruise passengers took in the event from a ship off Exmouth, while hundreds of eclipse chasers set up in dusty car parks along the only road in and out of the region.

Professor Johnston-Hollitt said the eclipsewould help people understand the structure of the solar system.

“We are on a rock, the earth, being orbited by another rock, the moon, both of which are orbiting a star, the sun, in the vastness of space,” she said.

Thursday’s event, a hybrid eclipse that started as an annular eclipse in the Indian Ocean before changing into a total eclipse near Exmouth, is considered rare.

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.

By the time the eclipse reached its peak, the website was running, though the link to the live stream was still down.

Exmouth, with a population of about 2800, has swollen with thousands of visitors. A festival atmosphere has taken hold, with concerts and events at towns and cattle stations across the region.

Campsites have sprung up in front yards and on dusty blocks of vacant land, with travellers setting up cameras on tripods to capture the celestial event.

Exmouth’s Earlybird Cafe had a line of customers out the door from early Thursday.

Owner Mandy Brendel said the influx of visitors had kept her and three staff busy in the lead-up to the eclipse.

“It’s been absolutely amazing,” she said while making coffee.