A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness.

Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.

It ended at sunset over the southern tips of Argentina and Chile in South America, including the town of El Calafate.

The Sun's altitude was only 1° during the 2 minute 47 second total phase, but Argentino Lake offered an adequate line-of-sight to the eclipse hanging just above the rugged Andes skyline.

[2] A 58% partiality occurred at sunset in Santiago, Chile, but it was not visible due to adverse weather conditions.

[8] The global sky photography project The World At Night stationed photographers throughout the eclipse's visibility track.

Eclipse chasers photographed the event on board a chartered airplane,[9] cruise ships, numerous Pacific islands, and in Argentina's Patagonia region.

[10] Approximately 4,000 observers visited Easter Island for this eclipse, including tourists, scientists, photographers, filmmakers and journalists,[11] prompting an increase in security at its important moai archeological sites.

[8][12] The path of totality of this eclipse barely missed some significant inhabited islands, including passing just about 20 km north of the northern end of Tahiti.

There were no major injuries or damage in the nearby cities of Calama, Chile and San Pedro de Atacama.