Astronomy People in South America see annular solar eclipse
People on Easter Island and in southern Chile and Argentina experienced an annular solar eclipse. The dark new moon moved in front of the sun and covered it for a few minutes - but not completely.
02.10.2024, 22:31
SDA
The moon appeared slightly smaller than the sun to observers, leaving a glowing ring of the sun visible. The astronomical spectacle could only be observed from a few inhabited areas - and even there only if there were no clouds in the way.
According to the US space agency NASA, the zone in which the ring-shaped phase was visible was mainly in the Pacific. It began south of Hawaii, crossed the ocean with Easter Island in it, went over the southern tip of South America and ended in the South Atlantic.
In other parts of South America, Hawaii and Antarctica, a partial solar eclipse was visible, meaning that the moon only partially covered the sun on one side - it looks as if a piece has been bitten off.
The fact that a ring of the sun remained visible is due to the distance of the moon from the earth. As the moon was particularly far away from the Earth at this time, it appeared smaller than normal. Therefore, the size of the disk was not sufficient to completely cover the disk of the sun. The result is described by solar eclipse fans as a "ring of fire".
There are around two to five solar eclipses worldwide every year, although these also include partial solar eclipses. The last total solar eclipse in this country was in August 1999, the next one will be in September 2081.
