Total Solar Eclipse 2019

The total solar eclipse Monday August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon. Emotional sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century. Photo: AFP/Rob Kerr

Total Solar Eclipse 2019: Here’s how to watch the Great American solar eclipse [live stream]

Unfortunately, the solar eclipse won’t be visible from South Africa. However, it’s such a spectacular event that we’ve rounded up the best webcasts. Watch it live here.

Total Solar Eclipse 2019

The total solar eclipse Monday August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon. Emotional sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century. Photo: AFP/Rob Kerr

Millions of people in South America will be able to witness the solar eclipse – also known as the Great American Solar Eclipse. Day will turn into night as the moon passes in front of the Sun.

It will be the only solar eclipse of 2019 so we don’t want to miss it, even if we aren’t in the path of totality. You will still be able to view it from the comfort of your home and see stars which are not usually visible during the day.

What is a solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon crosses paths with the sun, blocking it temporarily. During that time, the moon will cast a shadow on Earth, and those in its path will experience a few seconds or up to several minutes of twilight.

The closer you are to the central line of the totality, the darker it will be in your region. A partial solar eclipse happens when the moon doesn’t block the sun entirely.

A “ring of fire” eclipse, or annular eclipse, is when the moon passes in front of the Sun but is too small to cover all of the sun’s disk.

Because the moon’s orbit is elliptical and not circular, it will at times be farther away from Earth.

When is the total solar eclipse?

According to Space.com, the “moon will first appear to make contact with the sun above the Pacific Ocean at 12:55 EDT” (18:55 South Africa Standard Time).

The citizens of Oeno Island, a British territory in the South Pacific Ocean, will be the first to catch a glimpse of it.

This first place in South America to see totality will be near La Serena, Chile, where totality begins at 16:39 local time (19:39 GMT).

Where will the solar eclipse be visible?

The 200-km strip of totality starts near La Serena in Chile and ends south of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Residents in Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador and Brazil will be able to view a partial solar eclipse.

Unfortunately, most of the solar eclipse will occur over the Pacific Ocean, but thankfully for those in South America, they will get a spectacular sunset on the east coast because of it.

How to safely observe a solar eclipse

If you are in the line of totality today, the general rule is not to stare directly at the Sun. However, there’s an exception. Only when the Sun is completely hidden from view, will you be able to stare directly at it and witness the corona.

Apart from that brief window, you must wear proper eye protection or eclipse glasses to look at the Sun. If you don’t, you will suffer long-term or even permanent damage to your vision.

Always make sure that the eclipse glasses you purchase are ISO certified. You can use older eclipse glasses if it isn’t broken. Thankfully, those of us viewing on live stream will be free from harm.

Watch the eclipse here

TimeAndDate’s stream will go live at 18:30 SAST.

The ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile will live stream the solar eclipse from 21:00 SAST.

The official live stream of NASA TV

Also read – News anchor hilariously loses it on air as he refuses to care about Solar Eclipse