Total solar eclipse delights
Tourists flock to Chile, Argentina for rare event
LA SERENA, Chile — Tens of thousands of tourists and locals gaped skyward Tuesday as a total eclipse of the sun darkened the heavens over Chile and Argentina.
Tourists from around the world gathered to witness the cosmic spectacle, which began at 10:24 a.m. local time, crossing over a tiny atoll in the South Pacific. Chile and Argentina were the only inhabited places where the total eclipse could be seen.
The eclipse made its first landfall in Chile at 3:22 p.m. in La Serena, a city of about 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 also were reinforced.
Thousands jumped, shouted and screamed as the eclipse arrived.
A 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 the Argentine town of Chascomus, dozens braved near-freezing temperatures and strong winds to claim a spot at a pier in a lagoon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.
“I’ve been looking at the sky since my youth. My The moon blocks the sun during the eclipse.
first telescope when I was a kid was made out of cardboard,” said Ricardo Rumie, a 68-year-old veteran eclipse-watcher who set up his camera with a tripod and a telescope with a sun filter.
“I’ve seen other eclipses but never like this one. I just couldn’t miss it. For me it’s something supreme.”
“This is something that they say won’t repeat itself for like 300 years, so we wanted to bring our son,” said Maximiliano Giannobile, who arrived at the pier with 18-month-old Vitto wrapped in several layers of clothes.
Northern Chile is known for clear skies, and some of the largest, most powerful telescopes on Earth are being built in the area, turning the South American country into a global astronomy hub.
“In the past 50 years we’ve only had two eclipses going over observatories. So when it happens and an observatory lies in the path of a 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.”
In the town of La Higuera, officials distributed more than 2,000 cardboard-frame protective eyeglasses at local schools and community centers.
Thousands of visitors also trekked to neighboring areas of Argentina where the eclipse was total. Astronomers in Buenos Aires province offered yoga and meditation classes during the eclipse.
The Earth’s next total solar eclipse will be Dec. 14, 2020, and it also will cross Chile and Argentina, though on a different path.