How to watch the 2020 solar eclipse online

Parts of the southern hemisphere will fall into shadow today for the only total solar eclipse of 2020. Observers in countries including Chile and Argentina will be able to witness the momentary spectacle in the skies above them, while the rest of us can view it online.

During the total eclipse, a narrow band of the southern hemisphere from Chile to Argentina, and parts of the South Pacific, southern Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica, will experience darkness when the moon completely covers the disk of the sun. The partial phase eclipse will begin at 8:33 a.m. EST in the Pacific Ocean, before the total phase of the eclipse is visible at 9.32am EST. Maximum eclipse (when the sun is totally covered by the moon) will occur at approximately 11.13am EST.

The sun is seen through the clouds on the slopes of Villarrica volcano, in Pucon, Chile on December 13, 2020 ©AFP via Getty Images

NASA will live stream the event on its media channel with camera views of the total solar eclipse from Chile beginning from 9.40am EST. An hour-long Spanish-language program will air on NASA Television at 10.33am EST and the public channel on the agency’s website with live commentary from two NASA scientists, Yari Collado-Vega and Bea Gallardo-Lacourt.

In Chile, excited communities have been preparing for the spectacle for months. The event is particularly important to the Mapuche indigenous community. The total solar eclipse will occur in the southern region of La Araucania, where most of the Mapuche communities in Chile live. The eclipse, which is called "lan antu" in the Mapuzungun language, is seen as a generator of change, Juan Nanculef, an expert in Mapuche culture, told AFP.

Mapuche sage Juan Nanculef performs a Mapuche ritual of greeting Villarrica volcano before the solar eclipse on the slopes of Villarrica volcano, in Pucon, Chile ©AFP/Getty Images

A recent tightening of coronavirus restrictions in Chile is expected to limit celebrations and travel to viewing points. The government has banned free movement both the day before and after the eclipse, with officials patrolling potentially popular viewing areas such as Villarrica National Park.