Total solar eclipse to cross Chile, Argentina on Dec. 14, 2020
The only total solar eclipse of the year will cross South America on Monday, Dec. 14.
- You can watch live beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the video player below.
On Monday morning, the moon will pass directly in front of the sun, casting its shadow onto a narrow path that will cross southern South America — specifically Chile and Argentina.
The event is actually the result of a remarkable geometric coincidence: The size of the moon and its distance from the earth is nearly the exact same size as the sun in our sky. So, in those rare occurrences where the moon makes a direct path across the sun, we get a solar eclipse.
If this were to happen when the moon is a bit farther from Earth in its orbit — hence, a tad smaller — then it doesn’t cover up the entire sun and instead creates an annular eclipse, where a bright ring of sunlight can be seen around the edges. On Dec. 14, however, the moon is closer to the Earth and will block out the entire sun, creating a temporary darkness.
Watch Slooh’s live coverage of the Dec. 14 total solar eclipse below.
In 2024, a total solar eclipse will take a path quite close to Detroit. The totality will be just south of Michigan’s state line.
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