While most of the world’s attention will turn to the world cup soccer final match played between Holland and Spain, a much more profound event takes place that has much more impact our human condition. A total solar eclipse. The smart one’s attention will be focussed on that instead 
Today’s Total Eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses Earth’s southern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow crosses the South Pacific Ocean where it makes no landfall except for Mangaia (Cook Islands) and Easter Island (Isla de Pascua). The path of totality ends just after reaching southern Chile and Argentina. The Moon’s penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering the South Pacific and southern South America.
The Start of the Eclipse’s Path
The central eclipse path begins in the South Pacific about 700 kilometers (about 435 miles) southeast of Tonga at 18:15 Universal Time (UT). The southern coast line of Polynesia’s Tahiti lies about 20 kilometers north of the eclipse path and experiences a deep 0.996 magnitude partial eclipse at 18:28 UT.
Greatest Eclipse Occurrence
Greatest eclipse occurs in the South Pacific at 19:33:31 UT. At this instant, the axis of the moon’s shadow passes closest to earth’s center. The maximum duration of totality is five minutes and 20 seconds at the point of greatest eclipse.
The greatest eclipse occurs away from land – about halfway between New Zealand and South America.
Continuing across the Pacific, the umbral shadow‚Äôs path meets Easter Island, located about 3600km west of Chile’s mainland port of Caldera. From the capital, Hanga Roa, totality lasts four minutes and 41 seconds, with the sun being 40 degrees above the horizon at 20:11 UT. This moment provides a photo opportunity for eclipse chasers, who will have the chance to capture the island‚Äôs famous stone statues in front of a solar eclipse.
Eclipse’s Final Moments
The moon’s shadow sweeps across another 3700 kilometers (about 2299 miles) of ocean waters before making its final landfall along southern Chile at 20:49 UT. Wellington Island, which is an island west of Chile‚Äôs coast, experiences two minutes and 46 seconds of totality, with the sun just a few degrees above the horizon.
Farther inland, the Argentinean town of El Calafate sees two minutes and 47 seconds, with the sun setting just as totality ends. The path ends in southern Argentina when the umbra slips off the earth’s surface as it returns to space (20:52 UT).The next total solar eclipse will not occur until November 13, 2012.
About Haroun Kola
