Hundreds of thousands of tourists have gathered in the north Chilean desert to experience a rare combination for astronomy buffs: a total eclipse of the sun viewed from beneath the world's clearest skies.
Eclipse-watchers in Chile were not disappointed, when a 150km band of total darkness moved eastward across the Pacific Ocean, making landfall in Chile on Tuesday afternoon.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, plunging the planet into darkness.
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The best views were from Chile's sprawling Atacama desert north of the coastal city of La Serena, where a lack of humidity and city lights combine to create the world's clearest skies.
In the capital of Santiago, office workers poured from buildings to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.es.
"This is something rare that we may never see again," said Marcos Sanchez, a 53-year-old pensioner from Santiago.
The region had not seen an eclipse since 1592, according to the Chilean Astronomy Society. The next one is expected in 2165.
