• 'Ring of Fire' solar eclipse puts on a dazzling show in Australian Outback

    The dazzling "ring of fire" seen in the Australian Outback was produced when the moon moved between the Earth and the sun. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By Kristen Gelineau, The Associated Press

    SYDNEY — Skygazers across the Australian Outback were among the lucky few to witness a solar eclipse on Friday as the moon glided between Earth and the sun, blocking everything but a dazzling ring of light.

    The celestial spectacle, known as a "ring of fire" eclipse, was the second solar eclipse visible from northern Australia in six months. In November, a total solar eclipse plunged the country's northeast into darkness, delighting astronomers and tourists who flocked to the region from across the globe to witness it.

    Friday's eclipse, also called an annular solar eclipse, was not considered as scientifically important or dramatic as November's, because the moon is too far from Earth — and therefore appears too small — to black out the sun completely. Unlike a total solar eclipse, which essentially turns day into night, an annular eclipse just dims the sunlight.

    "A total eclipse is overall far more spectacular, far more emotional," said Andrew Jacob, an astronomer at Sydney Observatory. Still, he said, Friday's eclipse provided "a nice ring of sunlight in the sky."

    At remote outposts across Australia, scientists and spectators watched as the eclipse cast an approximately 200-kilometer-wide (120-mile-wide) shadow at dawn over Western Australia. The moon's shadow moved east through the Northern Territory and the top of Queensland state, then across Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the tiny island nation of Kiribati. The show ended at sunset over a largely uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean.

    Nicole Hollenbeck

    The annular solar eclipse blazes in the morning sky south of Newman, Australia. The "second sun" is a lens effect. For more about Nicole Hollenbeck's photo, check SpaceWeather.com.

    Joerg Schoppmeyer

    A filtered view of the annular solar eclipse highlights the "ring of fire" effect. Click on the picture for more eclipse views from photographer Joerg Schoppmeyer.

    Geoff Sims

    Photographer Geoff Sims captured this view of the annular solar eclipse from a ridge west of Plutonic Gold Mine, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Newman, Australia. "The horizon was perfectly clear - what an amazing sight seeing the squished sun in annular eclipse," Sims wrote in his Facebook posting. He's working on a collaborative imaging and time-lapse program with colleague Colin Legg. Click on the image to see more of Sims' work at https://www.facebook.com/BeyondBeneath

    David Gray / Reuters

    Women wear protective glasses as they gaze at Friday's solar eclipse from Sydney's Observatory Hill.

    David Gray / Reuters

    A telescope set up on Sydney's Observatory hill projects an image of the partial solar eclipse onto a screen.

    Skywatchers in Australia catch a "ring of fire" eclipse. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    The eclipse lasted between three and six minutes, depending on its location, and blacked out around 95 percent of the sun at its peak. A partial eclipse was visible to people in other parts of Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

    Astronomer Jay Pasachoff, who traveled from Williams College in Massachusetts to Australia to view his 57th solar eclipse, drove to a remote hill in the Outback about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Northern Territory town of Tennant Creek, where he and around 100 others enjoyed one of the best and longest views of the eclipse in Australia.

    Amateur astronomers clicked away on cameras, and local high-school students measured the drop in temperature as the moon moved in front of the sun and blocked out much of the light. The moment, Pasachoff said, was magical.

    "The color of the light changes in an eerie fashion, and you sense that something very strange and weird and wonderful is going on," Pasachoff said.

    More about the solar eclipse:

    Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Nowhere over the rainbow for Sydney gay crossing

    David Gray / Reuters

    A pedestrian walks across a rainbow pedestrian crossing painted on Sydney's Oxford Street, the city's main gay district, on April 4, 2013.

    By Michael Sin, Reuters

    Officials have ordered the removal of a rainbow pedestrian crossing painted on a street in Sydney's main gay district, setting off fierce debate in a city known for its annual Mardi Gras gay pride event, one of Australia's main tourist draws.

    Tracey Nearmy / EPA, file

    New South Wales police officers take part in the 35th Sydney Mardi Gras parade on March 2, 2013. The annual LGBT pride parade and festival carries on from the gay rights marches held annually since 1978 after numerous participants had been contentiously arrested by New South Wales State Police.

    Controversy over the crossing, painted in February to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the annual gay festival, is pitting those proud of Sydney's reputation for tolerance, such as gay former tennis star Martina Navratilova, against government officials who say it is a safety hazard.

    The colorful stripes on Oxford Street were originally intended to remain for a month after the Mardi Gras in March, but the crossing has become something of a magnet for tourists, prompting calls to maintain it as a celebration of gay pride. Read the full story.

    Tracey Nearmy / EPA, file

    Revellers take part in the 35th Sydney Mardi Gras parade on March 2, 2013.

    A rainbow-colored pedestrian crossing in Sydney has been removed, angering the gay community. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

    Black Caviar, racehorse on a hot streak, cools off before big race

    Racehorse Black Caviar, left, relaxes in the shallows of Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Australia on March 20, 2013.

    The Australian Thoroughbred, described as "freakishly talented" by The Racing Post, is aiming to win her 24th straight race on Friday night.

    A sell-out crowd of 25,000 is expected at Melbourne's Moonee Valley racecourse to witness the much-anticipated race, according to The Telegraph.

  • Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

    Larger than life - bodybuilders take the stage in Australia

    Bodybuilders from left to right, Ben Pakulski of Canada, Toney Freeman of the USA, Dexter Jackson of the USA, Edward Nunn of the USA and Ivan Sadek of Australia pose during the International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Australia Pro Grand Prix at The Plenary on March 9, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.

  • Fore! Kangaroo mob invades Australian golf course

    Stefan Postles / Getty Images

    s invaded a golf course in Australia, causing a stir at the Australian Women's Open in Canberra. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Karrie Webb of Australia waits for a mob of kangaroos to clear the fairway during day one of the Women's Australian Open at Royal Canberra Golf Club on Thursday, Feb. 14 in Canberra, Australia. 

    Kangaroos are not the only creatures troubling golfers in Canberra this week. According to The Associated Press, Swedish golfer Daniela Holmqvist used a tee to extract potentially fatal venom from her ankle after she was bitten by a spider during her qualifying round for the LPGA Tour's season-opening tournament.

  • Reuters

    Save the TV! Aussie floats his big screen to safety from floodwaters

    A man uses the cover of a hot tub to move a TV set through floodwaters at Cornubia, Queensland. Massive summer floods have killed four people and forced thousands to evacuate their homes across the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales, according to local authorities. -- Reuters

    Editor's note: Photo taken on Jan. 29, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.

    Related:

    Wild weather has broken a lot of hearts: Australia PM

    Video: Frothy sea foam spills into Australian town

    PhotoBlog: Three killed, dozens rescued in Australia floods


  • Wild weather has broken a lot of hearts: Australia PM

    Chris Hyde / Getty Images

    A man comforts his daughter on their roof as they inspect damage to their neighborhood in Bundaberg, Queensland on Jan. 29, 2013. Rescue and evacuation missions continued as emergency services prepared to move patients from Bundaberg Hospital to Brisbane amid fears the hospital could lose power.

    EPA

    Homes are inundated with floodwater in North Bundaberg on Jan. 29, 2013. The Premier of Queensland Campbell Newman said the situation in Bundaberg remained serious, and the government was working with local authorities to ensure thousands of evacuees had access to food, water and bedding.

    Reuters reports — A deluge fed by the ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has dumped more than 8 inches of rain in parts of Queensland and New South Wales over the past three days, swelling rivers and swamping towns

    A fleet of 14 helicopters rescued more than 1,000 people across Queensland overnight and rescue efforts continued on Tuesday.

    "Across Queensland the wild weather has broken a lot of hearts," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

    Among the four people killed was a three-year old boy, who died in hospital after being hit by a falling tree as he and his mother watched floodwaters in parts of Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Read the full story.

    Related:

    Video: Frothy sea foam spills into Australian town

    PhotoBlog: Three killed, dozens rescued in Australia floods

    Dave Hunt / EPA

    Sea foam is seen as walkers take to Burleigh Heads beach on Queensland's Gold Coast on Jan. 29, 2013, following wild weather caused by ex-cyclone Oswald.

    Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

    A man hangs onto the railing of North Curl Curl ocean pool in Sydney after winds and rain battered the city, producing large swells, on Jan. 29, 2013. Parts of Sydney experienced record rainfall after ex-cyclone Oswald swept through the city on Monday night.

    Rains lashed towns across eastern Australia, all the way down to Sydney, creating massive flooding, churning up foam from the ocean that bewildered drivers, and stranding civilians who had to be rescued by helicopter. NBC's Sara James reports.

     

  • Three killed, dozens rescued in Australia floods

    Brett Faulkner / AFP - Getty Images

    Floodwaters race across the Oxenford - Tamborine road on Australia's Gold Coast on Jan. 28, 2013 as severe floods swept through two states.

    Dan Peled / EPA

    Residents inspect their flooded home in Bundaberg, Queensland, on Jan. 28, 2013. At least 1,200 Bundaberg properties are already flooded, and there are fears the number could reach 2,000.

    Dramatic video from a helmet camera shows a baby and two women being airlifted out of a truck in Eastern Australia after flood waters washed the vehicle off the road. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

    Three people were reported to have been killed and dozens more were plucked from roofs and marooned cars in dramatic air rescues in northeastern Australia on Monday as severe floods swept through two states, inundating thousands of homes.  

    The heavy rain was caused by the remnants of a tropical cyclone that hit the country last week and also brought severe weather including tornadoes.

    -- Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press

     

    Emergency Management Queensland / Network Ten via AFP - Getty Images

    A man being winched to safety by helicopter in Biloela, Queenland, on Jan. 27, 2013.

    Paul Beutel / EPA

    Evan Roberts surveys the remains of a neighbour's gazebo blown onto his damaged home in Bargara, Queensland on Jan. 27, 2013. A large weather system courtesy of ex tropical cyclone Oswald is causing flooding down Queensland's coast and into northern New South Wales.

    Nicole Armitstead via EPA

    Children playing in sea foam at Burleigh Heads in Queensland on Jan. 28, 2013.

     

  • Kangaroo escapes Australia wildfire as heat wave breaks records

    Australian Broadcasting Corporation via EPA

    A kangaroo crossing a road in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, as it escapes from a bushfire. Several homes have been lost in a 25,000-hectare fire in Victoria's southeast.

    Kerry Lawrence / NSW Rural Fire Service via AP

    A fire burns in the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park on Jan. 18, 2013.

    Firefighters are battling scores of wildfires in southeastern Australia as hot, dry and windy conditions combine to raise the threat, The Associated Press reports. 

    The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that emergency warnings are in place in the states of Victoria and New South Wales, and that the body of a man was found on Friday in a burnt-out vehicle near the town of Seaton.

    The BBC reported on Friday that Sydney was experiencing its hottest day on record, with temperatures in the city reaching 45.8 degrees Celsius (114.44 degrees Fahrenheit).

    Damian Shaw / EPA

    People try to escape the heat by standing under a fire hose at Big Day Out music festival in Sydney on Jan. 18, 2013.

    Julian Smith / EPA

    A bushfire burns near Seaton, east of Melbourne, on Jan. 18, 2013. Reports state that a bushfire burning mainly in forest country about 200km east of Melbourne is 'as bad as it gets' and could continue for days or even weeks.

    Tracey Nearmy / EPA

    Rural Fire Service volunteers battle spot fires threatening homes and heading towards the Newell Highway south of the town of Coonabarabran on Jan. 18, 2013. A large 40,000 hectare bush fire is burning in the Warrumbungle National Park. Fires have destroyed more than 40 homes in New South Wales.

    NSW Rural Fire Service via Reuters

    A bushfire burns on Melbourne Street in Cessnock, about 75 miles north of Sydney, on Jan. 18, 2013.

    Record high temperatures heat up the Australian city of Sydney with the mercury hitting 114.44 degrees Fahrenheit. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

     

  • Incredible sight forms when dust storm and rain clouds combine over Indian ocean

    Brett Martin / fishwrecked.com via Reuters

    A cloud formation tinged with red dust travels across the Indian Ocean near Onslow on the Western Australia coast, on Jan. 9.

    Brett Martin / Perth Weather Live via AFP - Getty Images

    A towering red dust storm goes over the ocean ahead of a cyclone approaching Onslow on the West Australian coast, on Jan. 9. Tug boat worker Brett Martin, who captured the fearsome pictures 25 nautical miles from the town of Onslow, reported conditions were glassy and flat before the storm hit late on January 9. But when the wild weather arrived, the swell lifted to 6 feet, winds increased to 40 knots and visibility was reduced to 328 feet.

    weather.com -- Western Australians witnessed a freakish dust storm off the coast of Onslow on Wednesday.

    The stunning views were created as wind and rain caused the storm to dump the sand and dust it had ingested while passing Onslow, Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Austen Watkins told Australian Yahoo!.

    Tug boat worker Brett Martin, who took some photos of the storm, told Yahoo! that he and his colleagues were west of False Island when the thunderstorm, which quickly strengthened and gathered dust, passed over Onslow and headed to the Indian Ocean.

    Continue reading and see more photos of the storm.

    Related links:

    A giant dust storm swept over western Australia Wednesday, creating spectacular images. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

     

  • How do you weigh a 21-foot-long python? Australian zookeepers weigh "Atomic Betty."

    Australian Reptile Park via EPA

    Zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park stand on scales as they weigh a 21-foot-long python named Atomic Betty, on Jan 9. Reports state that the 14-year-old python weighed in at over 304 pounds.

    More snakes in PhotoBlog

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