Chile readies for solar eclipse amid pandemic
The astronomical event will be best seen in southern Chile's La Araucania and Los Rios regions, a repeat of last year's solar eclipse, which enthralled Chileans in the north of the country.
Hugo Messias, an astronomer at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the largest and highest astronomical observatory on earth, told international media during a virtual press conference Thursday that the event has generated great interest among the scientific community.
«There are parts of the sun that can only be observed during a total eclipse,» Messias said from the observatory located in Chile's Atacama desert, the driest in the world, and the observatory is more than 5,000 meters above sea level.
«We are used to hearing that the surface of the sun ... is between 5,000 and 10,000 degrees, and that is a lot for us. But a little further in, it is already one million degrees, and that is very rare and still scientists do not know how to explain it,» he said, adding the eclipse could shed some light on the matter.
While scientists are eagerly anticipating the event, local officials are dreading potential crowds and a consequent spike in COVID-19, leading them to impose some restrictions on those planning to visit the region.
La Araucania government spokesperson Pia Bersezio told reporters at the same conference that the pandemic «changed a lot of the scenarios» authorities had envisioned for what was being touted as Eclipse 2020.
«What we wanted was to promote the region of La Araucania as a tourist destination worldwide, a product with all the natural beauty of landscapes, rich gastronomy, traditions and cultures that we have here. But obviously we had to change course and focus on a responsible and safe eclipse,» said Bersezio.
With 108 new cases reported in the past day, La Araucania ranks fourth nationwide in number of daily cases.
As an alternative to observing the eclipse in person, the ALMA observatory announced earlier this month that it will live stream the event on social media.
Continental Chile won't see another eclipse like it until Nov. 25, 2049, according to ALMA.