Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Buenos Aires: Tourists flocked to cities and towns across northern Chile and Argentina to catch a glimpse of the first total solar eclipse since 2017. Millions gazed at the cosmic spectacle that began at 10.24 am local time on Tuesday in the South Pacific. The eclipse swept along a path extending 11,000km across open waters to Chile and Argentina, and the only place that the total eclipse was seen was from an uninhabited island out in the ocean. It is the first total solar eclipse since August 2017, when the moon passed between Earth and the sun over parts of the United States. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and blocks the sun. During a total eclipse, the sun's crown, or corona, is visible to the naked eye. The crown is the sun's outer atmosphere, stretching millions of miles into space. There are four types of solar eclipses: partial, annular, total and hybrid. According to NASA, "a total eclipse occurs somewhere on Earth about every year and a half. Partial eclipses are expected at least twice a year."
