December 17, 2020 | Skywatchers in southern South America were treated to a total solar eclipse on Monday (Dec. 14), and a weather satellite captured stunning views of the event from space.
Pictured: Total solar eclipse on Dec. 14, 2020 covering parts of South America in darkness. The image was captured by NASA and NOAA's GOES satellite. (Photo: GOES 16 Satellite/NOAA/NESDIS/NASA Earth Observatory)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) GOES-16 satellite watched as the moon's shadow danced across the Pacific Ocean, parts of Chile and Argentina and the Atlantic Ocean during 2020's only total solar eclipse. NOAA shared an amazing video of the satellite imagery on Twitter shortly after the eclipse.
The moon began blotting out the sun in some locations around 9:15 a.m. EST (1415 GMT), creating a partial eclipse for viewers in areas such as Lima, Peru. Meanwhile, viewers in the path of totality — a thin strip of Chile and Argentina — saw the skies darken around 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) for a little over two minutes.
