An annular eclipse will darken skies on October 2. The best spot to view it? Santa Cruz province, in Patagonia.
The “annular” variety of an eclipse occurs when the moon gets between the sun and earth, when it’s furthest away from our planet, or almost at its furthest distance from it. This creates the image of the moon as a dark circle with a bright ring around it.
The celestial event will take place on Wednesday, October 2. While the exact time will vary slightly by a few minutes depending on what area you’re in, it will happen approximately between 4 p.m. and 6:20 p.m., reaching its peak at 5:25 p.m.
The annularity, which is when the ring appears around the moon, will last six minutes and 20 seconds in the central part of the eclipse path.
Where can it be seen?
The eclipse will be most visible in Santa Cruz province in Patagonia. Two areas in particular are being highlighted for viewing:
- La Ascensión in Patagonia National Park, located on Provincial Route 43, about 40 km west of the town Perito Moreno.
- Cañadón Pinturas Portal in Patagonia Park, located on National Route 40, 56 km south of Perito Moreno.
Eclipse-related activities, talks, and special offers will be available from September 28 to October 6 near Perito Moreno, Los Antiguos, and Lago Posadas.
Where to stay and how to get there
The best viewing locations for the eclipse are near Perito Moreno, along Route 40 — an iconic highway that runs the length of Argentina. Accommodation in this area ranges from around AR$50,000 (US$51 at the official rate, US$39 at the MEP rate) to $AR214,000 (US$220 at the official rate, US$167 at the MEP rate) depending on what type of lodging you’re looking for.
There are a few different transportation options for getting to Perito Moreno:
- Car: It takes about 24 hours from Buenos Aires to Perito Moreno, car rental is about $35 a day. Remember, you’ll also have to consider fuel costs.
- Bus: There are buses that run from Buenos Aires to Comodoro Rivadavia on a journey of about 25 hours for around AR$ 100,000 (US$103 at the official rate, US$78 at the MEP rate). From there you can take a five-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Perito Moreno.
- Flight: You can take a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Buenos Aires to Comodoro Rivadavia for about US$150 with Aerolíneas Argentinas. You can take a bus from the Comodoro Rivadavia Bus Terminal to Perito Moreno, or rent a car (it’s about a five-hour drive to Perito Moreno). There are very limited flights from Comodoro Rivadavia into Perito Moreno on a few days of the week with the airline LADE.
Can’t make it to Patagonia? Buenos Aires has you covered
If you cannot make it that far South, in Buenos Aires you can expect to see a partial solar eclipse on October 2, from 4:23 p.m. to 6:43 p.m., reaching its peak at 5:37 p.m. The Buenos Aires City Planetarium in Palermo will organize free screenings of the Sun during eclipses from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Protective glasses will be handed out for viewing the eclipse, the phenomenon will be projected on a giant screen, and there will be informative talks at the Planetarium’s entrance.
The partial solar eclipse will also be visible from other places around Argentina including Bariloche, Mendoza, and Córdoba.
Regardless of where you decide to look at the skies, there are different safety measures you should take, depending on the type of eclipse. During an annular eclipse, the sun isn’t ever totally covered by the moon, so it isn’t safe at any point to look directly at the sun without protection specifically made for watching eclipses.
This includes camera lenses, binoculars, or telescopes — in order to view the eclipse, you need a solar filter that’s specially designed for the occasion and can be attached to the front of the lens.