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The total solar eclipse of December 14 will be a great way to say goodbye to 2020 and will be a fantastic event for lovers of astronomy and celestial phenomena. What are the best places to see it and what precautions should you take?
The eclipse will be seen in much of Latin America, but two countries, Argentina and Chile will have the best positions to contemplate the phenomenon.
Also, it can be seen in Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, in the adjacent oceans, in parts of Oceania, including the islands of French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands; in West Antarctica and the surrounding islands; on the Atlantic islands of Santa Elena, Ascensión and Tristán de Acuña; and, at sunset, in some southern African countries: Namibia and south-eastern South Africa and Angola.
CHILE
The total solar eclipse of 2020 will take place approximately 800 kilometers south of the city of Santiago. The Moon will pass precisely in front of the Sun at 13:00 local time on the west coast of Chile, and it will take approximately 20 minutes to cross the other side of the continent, with totality at 13:18 on the east coast of Argentina.
The best option from a tourist point of view is to visit the Chilean Lake District, especially Lake Villarrica and the surroundings of Pucón, an area famous for its lakes and thermal springs. The area is also home to the Nevado Villarrica volcano, one of the most active in Chile, which last erupted in 2015.
ARGENTINA
One option is to travel to southern Argentina based in the city of Bariloche in the Lake District. However, you will have to travel approximately 280 kilometers north of Bariloche to the town of Pilolil or Santo Tomás.
The longest point of the eclipse occurs in a large arid area of Argentine Patagonia further east, but getting there provides only an additional two seconds of totality. However, this area, especially the section along Highway 23 from the Minister Ramos Mexia to San Antonio Oeste on the east coast.
Patagonia of Argentina will be the place where the longest shadow time of this total solar eclipse will occur, reaching a duration of 59 minutes and 10 seconds.
It will be seen in total in a strip that runs, from west to east, the central area of the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro, more precisely in the mountain towns of Aluminé and Junín de los Andes, in Las Coloradas and Piedra del Águila (center of the province of Neuquén); in El Cuy, Sierra Colorada and Valcheta (on the southern border of the province of Río Negro); and in San Antonio, Las Grutas and El Cóndor, which are located on the Atlantic coast of the Rio Negro.
PRECAUTIONS FOR YOUR OBSERVATION
“The only tools suitable for viewing the eclipse are those prepared with special filters to view the Sun,” explained Nestor Camino, Conicet researcher in Astronomy Didactics.
He also claimed that “there are some devices called dark cameras,” which are simply made with tubes, aluminum foil and parchment paper. Aluminum foil is placed on the tip which is directed towards the sun and a small hole is made with a pin. On the other side, a screen with parchment paper is placed. “The aluminum end is pointed towards the sun, the light passes through the hole, is projected and forms an image on the parchment screen; and there you see the image of the eclipse “, he graphed
“One should not look at the Sun directly without adequate protection” or “during partial, annular and even total eclipses of the Sun, except for the period in which totality occurs”; since “intense sunlight can cause irreversible burns to the eyes”.
This solar eclipse will not repeat itself like this until the year 2048.
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