Solar eclipse will create rare 'ring of fire' in South America
October 3, 20242 Mins Read

International Desk: This year's solar eclipse will be visible in parts of South America today on Wednesday. Scientists say it will create a rare 'fireball'

This year, the moon will be farther from Earth than usual, so parts of Chile and Argentina will be able to witness "a ring of light from the sun." As the moon passes in front of the sun, a “crescent sun” will be visible before and after the rings.

The path of the eclipse begins in the North Pacific Ocean, crosses the Andes and Patagonia regions of Latin America and ends in the Atlantic.

According to NASA, the eclipse will last for about three and a half hours from 17:00 to 20:30 GMT.

However, the IMCCE Institute at the Paris Observatory in France said the 'fireball' event is expected to last only a few minutes, occurring around 18:45 GMT.

A partial eclipse will be visible from Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, parts of Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and several islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, NASA said .

Space agencies and institutes warn against viewing the eclipse with the naked eye, saying it can cause irreversible damage to the retina. Ordinary sunglasses do not provide adequate protection in this case.

According to NASA and IMCEE, the only safe method is to use certified special viewing glasses, or to project an image of the sun taken indirectly through a pinhole in a cardboard sheet onto a second cardboard sheet.

The next partial solar eclipse will occur on March 20, 2025, visible mainly from western North America, Europe and northwest Africa.