Part of the southern hemisphere witnessed an annular solar eclipse on Wednesday, but with the splendor of the“ring of fire” perfectly visible to few people, in the semi-desert Chilean and Argentine Patagonia.
The southern tip of the continent and the (Chilean) Easter Island had the privilege of fully seeing the phenomenon, which originated in the North Pacific and ended in the South Atlantic. But several South American countries and Pacific islands have been able to partially observe it.
“It was impressive, wonderful. Like a little twilight »enthused to AFP Ninoska Huki, 55, from Easter Island with 7,000 inhabitants, 3,500 km from the Chilean coast, among the first to be able to observe the annular eclipse at local midday, with the statues in the background « Nice ».
At the time of the ring of fire, “it was very windy, which also contributed to the reflection, and a sublime moment where we were calm watching the eclipse. A magnificent twilight »mused Mr. Huki.
“Special to the South”
Annular solar eclipse in Patagonia / Guillermo RIVAS PACHECO, Gustavo IZUS / AFP
Far on the other side of the Andes mountain range, in Argentine Patagonia, in Puerto San Julian, a small seaside resort 2,100 km from Buenos Aires, a few hundred duly covered people braved the cold and wind to watch the moon nibble away at the sun. around 5:25 p.m. local time (8:25 p.m. GMT), AFP noted.
Small telescopes, special eclipse glasses or… welding masks, the amateur astronomers, often locals who came with family, but sometimes enthusiasts who arrived from far away, enjoyed the phenomenon as much as the atmosphere of the place, at the end of the continent. .
“I had seen a total eclipse, I was impressed, and from there I started following all the eclipses I could in Argentina”commented Julio Fernandez, a 58-year-old retiree from Cordoba, 2,200 km away. “But here it’s special because it’s in the south”.
“I have already seen three total solar eclipses, but this was my first ‘annular’. I came from Buffalo (north-eastern United States) just for that. And it was spectacular! » marveled Susan Patkin, 66.
“A solar eclipse is the interposition of the Moon between the Sun and the Earth”reminded AFP Diego Hernandez, responsible for scientific dissemination at the Buenos Aires Planetarium. But in Wednesday’s case, “the Moon will be a little further from the Earth than usual, something that happens about once a month”.
Also, “the Moon cannot completely cover the Sun”hence an orange ring, “a kind of ring of light coming from the Sun”. Before and after this ring of fire, it is a “crescent sun” which is visible.
The eclipse began in the northern Pacific then from west to east, before « passer » through several islands and archipelagos, then crossing Chilean Patagonia, the Andes Mountains, Argentine Patagonia, to finish in the South Atlantic.
If the eclipse phenomenon was to last more than three hours, from approximately 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. GMT, according to NASA, the perfect annular eclipse in a restricted band only lasted a few minutes.
Moon and sun, see you in March
Partially – i.e. without “annularity” – it could be seen from Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, parts of Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and several islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, according to NASA.
The “ring of fire” seen through the clouds in Puerto San Julian, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, October 2, 2024 / JUAN MABROMATA / AFP
To admire “the ring of fire” in Argentina, you had to go to the province of Santa Cruz, an arid, cold and desert landscape, a huge province (the size of the United Kingdom) which is the second least densely populated in the country (after Tierra del Fuego), with 1.5 inhabitants per square kilometer. But with the abundant wildlife of penguins, sea lions and seabirds.
An audience hardly comparable to the millions of Americans, from the North and the South, who in October 2023 were able to fully enjoy the last “ring of fire”observable from Oregon to Colombia.
Wednesday’s eclipse, specifies the French Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (Imcce) is the 18th annular solar eclipse of the 21st century, and the second eclipse of 2024 after the total eclipse of April.
The next partial solar eclipse will take place on March 29, 2025, visible mainly from western North America, Europe and northwest Africa.