Total solar eclipse visible in Chile and Argentina
Tourists wear special glasses ahead of a total eclipse Tuesday in Chile. In 2017, Americans witnessed the phenomena.
LA SERENA, Chile — Tens of thousands of tourists and locals gaped skyward Tuesday as a rare total eclipse of the sun began to darken the heavens over northern Chile.
Tourists gathered to witness the spectacle, which began by crossing over a tiny atoll in the South Pacific. Chile and Argentina were the only places that the total eclipse was visible aside from the uninhabited island.
The eclipse made its first landfall in Chile in La Serena, a city of 200,000 people where the arrival of more than 300,000 visitors forced the local water company to increase output and gas stations to store extra fuel.
Police and health services were also reinforced.
“I came to La Serena to watch the total eclipse with a friend following a recommendation,” said Stephanie Bouckurt from the United States. “They told me that nothing compares to a solar eclipse, so that’s why we’re here. We’re super excited.”
Northern Chile is known for clear skies and some of the most powerful telescopes on Earth are being built in the area, turning the South American country into an astronomy hub.
“In the past 50 years we’ve only had two eclipses going over observatories. So, one, when it happens and an observatory lies in the path of totality, it really is special for us,” said Elyar Sedaghati, an astronomer working as a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Paranal, Chile. “We can finally use our toys during the day because it’s always at night that we use them.”
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun and scores a bull’s-eye by completely blocking out the sunlight.
In 2017, millions of people in the United States witnessed the phenomena. It was the first such widespread eclipse in the U.S. since 1918.