- Rally in oil prices loses steam on mixed day for global stocks
- South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- Biden official says port strike deal not as far as parties think
- Mexico's new president offers apology for 1968 student massacre
- Historic funding round values OpenAI at $157 billion
- Mixed US car sales in Q3 as industry hopes for post-election bounce
- Thunderstorms are a 'boiling pot' of gamma rays, scientists find
- Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
- US private sector adds more jobs than expected in September: ADP
- Boys out of critical condition after Zurich stabbings
- Spain logs record summer tourism as inflow draws protests
- Hedi Slimane quits as Celine's artistic director
- Oil prices extend rally on Iran attack
- Spain welcomed record number of tourists this summer
- France says coming tax hikes on the wealthy to be 'temporary'
- Why are Thailand's roads so deadly?
- Oracle to invest $6.5 bn in Malaysian cloud services region
- Parkrun marks 20 years of a free weekly jog, run... or walk
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong soars again
- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
RBGPF | -2.18% | 59.5 | $ | |
BCC | -1.33% | 139.53 | $ | |
SCS | -2.56% | 12.87 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.04% | 24.93 | $ | |
NGG | -1.85% | 68.78 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.78 | $ | |
BCE | -1.13% | 34.44 | $ | |
JRI | -1.12% | 13.38 | $ | |
RIO | -0.48% | 70.82 | $ | |
GSK | -2.15% | 39.45 | $ | |
RELX | -0.11% | 47.29 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.43% | 6.9 | $ | |
BTI | -1.33% | 35.97 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 32.37 | $ | |
VOD | -2.16% | 9.74 | $ | |
AZN | 1.14% | 79.58 | $ |
South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
Skygazers on the tip of South America were treated Wednesday to a spectacular "ring of fire" solar eclipse that was visible from Chile's Easter Island before heading to mainland Patagonia.
The rare spectacle -- which happens when the Sun momentarily all but disappears as the Moon crosses its path -- drew dozens of tourists, photographers and astronomy enthusiasts to the Pacific island of 7,000 inhabitants.
There, they pointed their lenses at a partly cloudy sky against the backdrop of the "moais" -- the giant statues iconic of Easter Island, long inhabited by Polynesian people.
"It was a mini sunset," 55-year-old Ninoska Huki told AFP of the "sublime" experience that hit the island shortly after noon local time.
A so-called annular solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Moon and Sun line up.
Even when perfectly aligned, the Moon is too far from Earth to completely block out the Sun, creating instead the impression of a fiery ring.
At first, it appears as if a bite has been taken out of the Sun.
The bite grows bigger and bigger until the Moon moves directly in line with the Sun, at which point people nearby usually notice a distinct drop in temperature and brightness but for the ring.
As the day darkens, birds and animals sometimes enter a night-time routine, thinking sunset is near.
Full "annularity," the moment of the peak "ring," lasted about six minutes with Wednesday's eclipse, which began in the North Pacific before passing over the Andes and Patagonia regions of Latin America.
Lasting more than three hours from about 1700 to 2030 GMT, according to NASA, it was to finish over the Atlantic.
A partial eclipse would be visible from Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, parts of Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and several islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, NASA said.
- Patagonian path -
On the southern tip of Argentina, people braved icy cold and windy weather to gather in the small Patagonian town of Puerto San Julian to observe the phenomenon from an esplanade facing the beach.
Retired teacher Julio Fernandez, 58, brought a telescope "so the children can see, because not many" ever get the chance.
Classes in the town were suspended for children to partake in the rare event.
The only safe methods to observe a "ring of fire" eclipse, according to experts, involve certified special glasses, or watching indirectly through a pinhole in a cardboard sheet projecting the image onto something else.
The next partial solar eclipse will take place on March 29, 2025, visible mainly from western North America, Europe and northwest Africa.
M.Anderson--CPN