Project Chile - Annular Solar Eclipse - October 2024

Unlike a total solar eclipse, an annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is a little further away from the Earth so at this point in its rotation a "ring of fire" or annulus remains around the edge of the Moon when it moves across the surface of the Sun.  The annular solar eclipse of 2024 starts when the shadow of the moon first touches Earth in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii, but it does not cross land until it reaches Easter Island, some 3,800km off the coast of South America. As the eclipse passes across the Andes of Southern Chile it is unlikely to be seen by many people in this sparsely populated region of icefields and rugged mountains.

 

For eclipse observers on mainland South America, the best option is beyond the mountains in the open pampas of Argentine Patagonia - a region sheltered from the Pacific cloudiness in lee of the Andes Mountain range.

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Astro Trails will be observing from the remote volcanic Polynesian Island once known as Rapa Nui.  Easter Island with its cultural fascination of almost 900 Moai statues offers the choice of a rare adventure - a remote, ancient land that few people ever reach!