Explanation:
Makemake,
a god in Easter Island mythology, may have
smiled for a moment as
clouds parted long enough to reveal this glimpse of
July 11's total solar eclipse to skygazers.
In the foreground of
the dramatic scene,
the island's famous large,
monolithic statues (Moai)
share a beachside view of the shimmering
solar corona and the
darkened daytime sky.
Other opportunities to see the total phase of this
eclipse
of the Sun were also hard to come by.
Defined by the dark part of the
Moon's shadow, the
path of totality tracked
eastward across the
southern Pacific Ocean, only making significant landfall at
Mangaia (Cook Islands) and
Easter Island (Isla de Pascua),
ending shortly after reaching southern Chile and Argentina.
But a partial eclipse phase could be enjoyed over a broader region,
including many
southern Pacific islands and wide swath of South America.
