Large crowds in Chile and Argentina stopped to look towards the sky yesterday afternoon as day turned to night for a few minutes during a rare total solar eclipse.
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This was the first total solar eclipse since that in 2017, which could be seen from the USA.
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, obstructing the view of the sun from those on Earth.
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The eclipse yesterday was only visible to a few Southern Pacific islands and a portion of South America only 150 km wide over Chile and Argentina.
A partial eclipse could be seen from the rest of South America and Central America.
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The eclipse was seen for the longest period over La Higuera in Chile and lasted 2.36 minutes. However, the uninhabited island of Oeno was plunged into daytime darkness for three minutes. The shortest view of the eclipse was seen from San Juan in Argentina – it lasted only seven seconds.
According to Al Jazeera, tourists streamed into the two countries in such vast numbers that hire cars sold out and hotels were fully booked. Some set up their telescopes, cameras and barbeques, on roadsides while others rushed to especially-built viewing platforms in town.
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Feature image: National Geographic en Español
