Here’s how you can watch Tuesday’s total solar eclipse over South America

By Trevor Mogg Published April 28, 2022

The last solar eclipse to pass over the U.S. caused quite a stir in 2017. Millions of people drove many miles to find a viewing spot inside the path of totality, joining millions more already living in the 70-mile-wide path that stretched from coast to coast.

On Tuesday, July 2, another solar eclipse will take place, but this time the path of totality is further south. A lot further south. Like, in Argentina and Chile.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch it.

Recommended Videos

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you’ll be able to live-stream the stunning celestial happening on your smartphone or PC, with the footage coming from telescopes in Vicuña, Chile.

The video link, which comes courtesy of a joint effort between NASA and the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco, will fire up at 3 p.m. E.T., with additional streams offering commentary in both English and Spanish starting at 4 p.m. E.T..

The European Southern Observatory will also show its own live-stream of the eclipse shot from its facility in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Total solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking out sunlight for several minutes. Those who’ve experienced the event from the path of totality describe the sensation as everything from eerie to inspirational. Whatever your personal take, most people agree that it’s pretty darn special.

Watching it online won’t quite be the same, of course, but it’ll still be spectacular.

“Studying the sun during total solar eclipses helps scientists understand the source and behavior of solar radiation that drives space weather near Earth, which can affect the health of astronauts in space and the durability of materials used to build spacecraft,” NASA said in a message on its website. It added that data gathered from such events can help the space agency in its mission to return astronauts to the moon in 2024, and for eventual crewed missions to Mars.

In the area?

If you happen to find yourself in Argentina or Chile on Tuesday and hope to catch the eclipse, make sure you’re watching it through certified safety glasses. Photographers, too, should be careful — check out our piece on how to get amazing eclipse shots without ruining your camera.

For solar eclipse fans in the U.S., the next one visible from American soil will be on April 8, 2024, with the path of totality running between southern Texas and northern New England.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Space

SpaceX Starship reaches orbit for the first time but its historic flight ends early

Starship reaches orbit for the first time and deploys 26 Starlink satellites before an early splashdown.

spacex-starship

After 13 suborbital test flights and more than $15 billion in development costs, SpaceX's Starship has finally reached orbit. The 407-foot megarocket, the most powerful ever built, lifted off from Starbase, Texas, on Monday and delivered its first real payload on it's 14th attempt. The celebration came with an asterisk, though, since SpaceX had to cut the planned 10-hour mission to roughly three hours.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2104601695711904180

Space

Starship is finally going orbital, and SpaceX has picked September 22

Flight 14 is aiming for orbit, Starlink V3 deployment and a very long day in space.

Starship rocket.

SpaceX is finally ready to give Starship its biggest test yet. The company says the massive rocket's 14th test flight is scheduled for September 22, when it will attempt to put the upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time. The launch is currently pending regulatory approval, with a 75-minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT.

Starship has 26 Starlink satellites to deliver

Space

Want a city on the Moon? Scientists say there’s not enough water

A billion tons still comes up short

Artist impression of activities in a Moon Base.

For decades, humanity has looked up at the Moon and wondered what it would be like to live on it. Think sprawling cities, factories, research centers, and permanent human settlements. Unfortunately, there is one fairly fundamental problem with that vision.

A new study published in Frontiers in Space Technologies argues that even the Moon's potentially enormous reserves of frozen water may be nowhere near enough to support city-sized populations sustainably. Researchers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell estimate that the permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles could contain roughly one billion tons of water. It sounds like an extraordinary amount until you put a million thirsty humans next to it.