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Watch Solar Eclipse 2024 from Rapa Nui in Chile

Lucy Leeson
Friday 04 October 2024 22:16 BST
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Watch the annual Solar Eclipse 2024 from Rapa Nui in Chile.

The New Moon passed in front of the Sun on Wednesday (2 October), forming a ā€œring of fireā€ annular solar eclipse across the southern tip of South America.

It passed directly over Argentina, Chile and Easter Island, while a crescent-shaped partial solar eclipse was also visible across a broader region, including Brazil, Fiji, Hawaii, Mexico and New Zealand.

Solar eclipses happen when the sun, moon and Earth line up just so. The moon casts a shadow that can partially or totally block the sunā€™s light.

During an annular eclipse, the moon obscures all but a ring-shaped sliver of the sun. Thatā€™s because the moon is at a point in its orbit thatā€™s farther from Earth.

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