the only Total solar eclipse The year 2020 dazzled spectators in South America, and some were lucky even as an overcast sky threatens to disrupt a spectacular celestial event.
The so-called southern cone has now been treated for two total solar eclipses in successive years. But each event was unique. Both eclipses were visible in Chile and Argentina, however 2019 total solar eclipse It happened in the southern hemisphere winter and in the late afternoon. This means that the sun was low on the horizon, so the sky was not as dark as it was this year.
An eclipse occurred on Monday (December 14) during the summer in the Southern Hemisphere and closer to midday, so the sun is higher in the sky. During an interview with NASA in Spanish, Daniela Fernandez of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile said the facility has several tools ready to take advantage of its near-peak location in the sky this year. Unfortunately, it was completely overcast at the University Astronomical Observatory during the eclipse.
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Total solar eclipse as seen from Pedra del Aquila, Neuquen Province, Argentina, on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP via Getty Images)
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The diamond ring effect appears during a total solar eclipse from Piedra del Aquila, Neuquen province, Argentina on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP via Getty Images)
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An atom of the sun appears after college as the moon moves across the sun during a total solar eclipse on December 14, 2020, in Teodoro Schmidt, Chile. (Image source: Marcelo Hernandez / Getty Images)
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View of the sun partially covered by the moon during a partial solar eclipse in Buenos Aires on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Juan Mabromata / AFP via Getty Images)
Other locations across Chile got better views of the total solar eclipse, and the local enthusiasm hasn’t waned.
The partial eclipse came, when it appeared that the moon was taking a “bite” from the sun for the first time, and made landfall in Chile at 11:38 a.m. local time (9:38 a.m. EST; 1438 GMT) on the country’s west coast. TimeAndDate.com .
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(Photo credit: TVN Chile /Youtube )
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(Photo credit: TVN Chile /Youtube )
Spectators in the Bío Bío, Araucanía and Los Ríos regions of Chile were eagerly awaiting the event, and many prepared with face masks and sunglasses And wished for the best in the vagaries of cloudy conditions.
TVN Chile public channel interviewed the enthusiastic families and food vendors who had gathered on the college road.
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A total solar eclipse on Earth is the result of many things going well, and clouds can unfortunately throw a key in watching the eclipse. It’s just luck Earth’s moon It is the correct distance from our planet and the appropriate size to be able to completely obscure the sun’s disk, allowing the extremely hot, fragile corona or “crown” of the sun to pass through it. Point of view Solar Eclipse of Mars It reveals that a total solar eclipse is not a regularly occurring phenomenon in the solar system.
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People watch a total solar eclipse on the shores of Lake Villarrica in Pucón, southern Chile, on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images)
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View of a total solar eclipse in Pucon, southern Chile, on December 14, 2020. Thousands of tourists and residents of southern Chile saw their hopes of seeing a total solar eclipse diminish with heavy rains on Monday, just hours earlier than expected. Event. (Image source: Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images)
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Total solar eclipse as seen from Pocon, southern Chile, on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images)
Viewers in Pocon, in the Araucanía region of Chile, received about two minutes of the grand total, which began at 1:03 pm local time (11:03 a.m. ET; 1603 GMT) TVN Chile broadcast live footage of the Pocón crowd cheering as it began. Daylight dimmed minutes before the entirety of events. Although the sky remained overcast, the coronal ring of the total eclipse was visible.
In southern Argentina, crowds had fewer clouds preventing their visibility of the eclipse in Balneario el Cóndor in the Río Negro region. According to. Viewers tested there one minute, 48 seconds off total TimeAndDate.com .
The total solar eclipse allowed spectators to observe about five Solar prominences Solar flares, or eruptions, on the surface of the sun. The moon was able to block out enough sunlight so that these solar fires could be seen along the edge of the lunar disk. The footage from the somewhat cloudy locations also gave the scene an oscillating quality that added to the mesmerizing nature of the event.
A solar eclipse has also been seen from space. The GOES East satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) captured a view of moon shadow sweeping across the Southern Hemisphere.
The partial solar eclipse ended in South America east of Salina de Ije, Argentina, at 2:51 pm local time (12:51 pm EST, 1751 GMT).
A partial solar eclipse is seen through a projector at the Galileo Galilei Planetarium in Buenos Aires, on December 14, 2020. (Image source: Juan Mabromata / AFP via Getty Images)
The The next total solar eclipse It will occur over the Antarctic Peninsula on December 4, 2021. An annular eclipse, or “ring of fire,” will be visible from North America, Europe, and Asia on June 10, 2021. The next time a solar eclipse will cross South America it will be the Southern Cone during an annular eclipse on October 2, 2024.
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