“If you have the opportunity to see a total solar eclipse in person, do whatever you can to see it. Not everyone will be amazed by it; but I was — and your next opportunity is in Chile and Argentina on Tuesday, July 2, 2019.”
Total Solar Eclipse in Argentina and Chile: July 2, 2019
The paragraph you just read was what I wrote in this article which includes my photographs of the last total solar eclipse, which occurred across the United States on Monday, August 21, 2017 and was the first time in 99 years when a total eclipse of the sun traversed the United States from coast to coast. It was also the first first total solar eclipse which has been visible in the continental United States since 1979; and if you missed that event, consider heading on down to Chile or Argentina this year…
…and, of course, keep your eye out for airfare deals. Six days ago, an “airfare steal” of a round trip fare between New York and Buenos Aires for $228.00 was reported in this article at Miles to Memories. As I was preparing to post an article about it, the airfare disappeared — it turned out to be a mistake fare — but not before I researched and found out that the best that could be done to secure that airfare for the total solar eclipse of 2019, you would have had to stay for three weeks at a minimum.
Interactive Maps
If you want to specifically know where to go to best view a total eclipse of the sun, the official total solar eclipse Internet web site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States — which is more popularly known as NASA — has an interactive map.
Using Google Maps as the engine and created by Xavier M. Jubier, this interactive map of the total solar eclipse is an excellent way for you to pinpoint the precise location of where to maximize your viewing of the total eclipse of the sun — as well as gather other information about the eclipse in any location with one single click.
There is even a spot on the map — which is not visible in the above illustration — that shows the precise location of where you can view the longest duration of the total solar eclipse…
TSE 2019 General Circumstances
Type: Total
Date: 2019 July 2
Time: 19:22:58.5 UT
Magnitude: 1.04591
Gamma: -0.64656
Saros: 127
Max. Duration: 04m33s
ΔT: 69.4s — σ = ±0.2s [±0.0°]
…but unfortunately, both of the points of greatest eclipse and greatest duration are out towards the middle of the Pacific Ocean and hundreds of miles away from any land. In fact, the only other land mass — if you want to call it that — which will be in the path of the total eclipse is Oeno Island, where at 10:23 in the morning local time, you can experience two minutes and 51 seconds of totality of the solar eclipse. This tiny tropical atoll is located 89 miles northwest of Pitcairn Island.
“Indeed, Oeno Island is probably most famous for being a vacation spot in two weeks each January for some Pitcairners — all 57 of them — when, you know, they get claustrophobic on their busy island”, according to this article written by for When Is The Next Eclipse? “Consequently it’s also known as Holiday Island. Flat, covered in shrubs and coconut palms, the island contains a small lagoon, and a usually uninhabited village that serves as the holiday area. Over the shallows of the north coast of Oeno is Sandy Island, an even smaller sliver of land.”
Getting to this remote island in the Pacific Ocean may be rather difficult, as “In practice, Oeno Island can only be visited with the prior permission of the Commissioner for Pitcairn Islands in New Zealand; super-yachts are the most likely visitors at any time, and that’s also likely to apply for this remote outpost during the eclipse.”
Bonus: How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse
When you have pinned down the location as to where you want to photograph the solar eclipse, how do you take pictures of it?
“We asked two veteran photographers to share their top tips for documenting the biggest astronomical event America has seen in years”, according to this article written by
If you are unsure as to the best ways of photographing the solar eclipse, information in the aforementioned article includes researching the best locations; bringing the right equipment; getting creative with your photography — and even using your smartphone or other portable electronic device if you do not have the proper equipment.
Summary
Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza in Argentina and Santiago in Chile are likely the best locations to be based from which to start out on your quest to view a total solar eclipse. Start planning your travel as soon as possible if you are interested in seeing a total solar eclipse in either Chile or Argentina — or Oeno Island, if you are so inclined — as lodging will be more difficult to reserve.
At the time this article was written — as only one of many examples — the Anselmo Buenos Aires, Curio Collection by Hilton hotel property had a rate of $107.09 per night, for a total of $214.18. Better yet, qualified Non-Argentinian residents will be exempt from the value added tax of 21 percent if the following conditions are met: a length of stay fewer than 90 days; a copy of passport with immigration stamp; and payment with a debit card or credit card from a foreign institution.
If you would rather not travel to Chile or Argentina, the next total solar eclipse of the sun over the United States is expected to occur on on Monday, April 8, 2024.
Regardless of which total solar eclipse you plan on viewing, ensure that you are equipped with the proper glasses or filters for viewing it — and check the weather, as this total solar eclipse will occur during the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere.
Please refer to the following articles pertaining to the total solar eclipse which I experienced on Monday, August 21, 2017:
- Nothing I Can Do, A Total Eclipse of the Sun
- Total Solar Eclipse: Two Useful Tools to Know Where to Go
- Everything You Do Not Want to Know About Trying to View a Total Solar Eclipse
- Photographs of the Total Eclipse of the Sun
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
