Another total solar eclipse is about to take place today in South America. This will be the first one since 2017’s great American eclipse.

 

The last total eclipse of the sun was quite a sight as millions of people went down there to witness it. Thanks to modern technology, you can watch as the magic unfolds live from wherever you are in the world, with footage coming from telescopes in Vicuna, Chile.

 

This time, the eclipse will trace a path of totality further south such that it will be visible from Chile and Argentina. Though the main path of the eclipse is relatively narrow, a good part of South America will get to see it.

 

NASA and the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco have together made a joint effort to bring live views to the people across the world which will fire up at 3 p.m. E.T. There is an additional stream offering commentary in both English and Spanish starting at 4 p.m. E.T.

 

The European Southern Observatory will also live-stream the eclipse as seen from their facility in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The broadcast starts at 12:15 p.m. Pacific.

 

However, NASA TV will be broadcasting the Exploratorium feeds on its own live-stream. You can also catch all the eclipse goodness through the museum’s Total Solar Eclipse 2019 app for iOS and Android.

 

 

Total solar eclipse

Eclipses are normally named after their darkest phase. If a solar eclipse is total at any point on Earth, it is called a total solar eclipse, even though it’s seen as a partial eclipse in other areas.

 

It occurs when the new moon comes between the sun and the Earth. It then casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra on Earth. This event is said to be spectacular, a lot of people get different sensations from it. We are fortunate to be in a time that we can be a part of it regardless of our locations.

 

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) commented about the total eclipse. It said that “one occurs on average at any specific location every 360 years.”

 

You don’t want to miss this one.