Eclipse Draws Thousands to Watch Desert Plunge Into Darkness
- Total solar eclipse to lasted 2 minutes and 36 seconds Tuesday
- Region’s clear skies has attracted world’s largest telescopes
Tourists and astronomers arrive at La Silla European Southern Observatory ahead of a solar eclipse in La Higuera, Chile, on July 2.
Photographer: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
Astronomers and amateur skywatchers were treated to a total solar eclipse in part of Chile’s northern desert, an area famed for its clear skies and host to some of the world’s largest telescopes.
More than 200,000 people flocked to the coastal resort of La Serena and the nearby Elqui Valley to witness the moon’s shadow cover the totality of the sun for exactly 2 minutes and 36 seconds at 4:39 p.m. local time Tuesday. Such eclipses happen once every few months, but this year’s happened to take place in a region that attracts tens of thousands of amateur astronomers every year.