First contact occurs when the dark disk of the Moon takes its first bite out of the brilliant solar surface. In this image, the Moon is beginning to cover the Sun at lower left.
Billboards like this one, along with flyers, posters, and free-standing displays, touted the eclipse in any location within the path of totality.
Even hours before the eclipse, sites throughout Chile were already packed with excited observers.
This Dobsonian-mounted Newtonian reflector was just one example of the large number of telescopes eclipse chasers brought to view the event. The gold foil keeps the scope’s mirror from heating up during the daytime, something that will distort the image.
Darren Trizzino from Dallas photographed the eclipse through his 4-inch Takahashi refractor while Oscar the Astro Octopus looked on.
Binoculars can be used to view the partial phases of a solar eclipse only if they are equipped with approved solar filters. (Be sure to remove the filters when the eclipse is total.)
This sequence shows the progression of Baily’s beads before and after totality. These tiny brilliant points are created when sunlight passes through valleys at the edge of the Moon. The central image of totality also reveals the large prominence on the Sun’s left edge.
The flash spectrum, also known as the chromospheric spectrum, shows the various elements within the Sun’s chromosphere. They emerge as the bright arcs visible to the left and right of the eclipsed Sun. This image also captures the photospheric spectrum (upper right), which is the continuous run of colors from red through violet superimposed on the flash spectrum.
While in Chile, the group that Astronomy Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich accompanied visited a rural school the day before the eclipse. While there, Bakich told the students about the eclipse and showed them how to safely view the event. The group then distributed more than 200 pairs of approved solar glasses.
While in Chile, the group that Astronomy Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich accompanied visited a rural school the day before the eclipse. While there, Bakich told the students about the eclipse and showed them how to safely view the event. The group then distributed more than 200 pairs of approved solar glasses.
While in Chile, the group that Astronomy Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich accompanied visited a rural school the day before the eclipse. While there, Bakich told the students about the eclipse and showed them how to safely view the event. The group then distributed more than 200 pairs of approved solar glasses.
As the diamond ring fades, Baily’s beads start to form, as seen in this image taken from Pangue Observatory, 11 miles (17 km) south of Vicuña, Chile.
This group of travelers were part of a fly-in to the observing site near La Higuera, Chile. In addition to the helicopter shown, there were three small planes and an ultralight.
Many small towns in Chile saw an influx of visitors for the eclipse. The night before the big event, an astronomy club located 30 miles (50 km) from Santiago conducted a public observing session in the town of Andacollo, Chile.
Because the sky was clear several days before and after the eclipse, visitors to Chile and Argentina enjoyed spectacular nighttime views as well. The two Magellanic Clouds, Alpha (α) and Beta (β) Centauri, and Crux the Southern Cross were all easy to spot. Jupiter is the brilliant object to the upper left.
The red chromosphere (the layer above the Sun’s visible surface) really stood out through binoculars and telescopes both just before and just after totality.
Even cellphones captured the eclipse well, although such images look their best when viewed on the phone. Note that Venus is visible below the Sun.
The Sun’s corona was easy to see as it stretched for several solar diameters on either side of our eclipsed daytime star.
From many locations, the Sun set before fourth contact (the official end of the eclipse). This photographer captured the brilliant orb setting behind distant mountains with the Moon still obscuring some of its face.
The day following the eclipse, the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio published a front-and-back-page spread about the event.
Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory, TWAN)
This image shows a group of observers and photographers who gathered in Chile to view the eclipse. The last remaining sunlight before totality, during the diamond ring, was enough to cast their shadows. The diffraction spikes around the Sun are from the camera.
