A total solar eclipse seen over South America

On Tuesday, a total solar eclipse will be stunning crowds across South America.

July 2, 2019, 2:07 PM

Coronel Baigorria, Argentina -- Nearly two years after the "Great American Eclipse" of 2017, crowds were wowed by another total solar eclipse as it appeared over Argentina on Tuesday.

PHOTO: Solar eclipse as seen from the La Silla European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Higuera, Coquimbo Region, Chile, July 2, 2019.
Solar eclipse as seen from the La Silla European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Higuera, Coquimbo Region, Chile, July 2, 2019.
Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

Lined up along a field in Espinillo, a parish in northern Argentina, dozens of spectators, adorned in solar glasses and sipping on maté tea, stood with telescopes.

Jessica Banks, a Waldorf kindergarten teacher from Portland, Oregon, was among them, and said she had also observed the North American eclipse in 2017.

“I feel like once you experience that kind of feeling, you want to experience it as many times as you can,” she said.

The eclipse began in the late afternoon, local time, and went on for more than two minutes.

PHOTO: Behind a thin sheet of clouds, the eclipse reaches totality, July 2, 2019, in Cordoba, Argentina.
Behind a thin sheet of clouds, the eclipse reaches totality, July 2, 2019, in Cordoba, Argentina.
Lucie McCormick/ABC News

While the area of greatest visibility, or longest duration, occurred over the South Pacific, the total eclipse was also visible from various places in Chile and Argentina.

PHOTO: People test their special solar glasses before the solar eclipse in La Silla European Southern Observatory at Coquimbo, Chile, July 2, 2019.
People test their special solar glasses before the solar eclipse in La Silla European Southern Observatory at Coquimbo, Chile, July 2, 2019.
Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters

During a total eclipse, the moon completely obscures the sun, and a ring appears in the sky. Total solar eclipses only occur every 12 to 18 months with varying visibility.

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