Thousands marvel as total eclipse darkens Chile, Argentina

Tens of thousands of tourists and locals gaped skyward Tuesday as a total eclipse of the sun darkened the heavens over Chile and Argentina.

Tourists from around the world gathered to witness the cosmic spectacle, which began in the morning as the moon crossed in front of the sun and cast a shadow that passed over a tiny uninhabited atoll in the South Pacific and headed to South America. Chile and Argentina were the only inhabited places where the total eclipse could be seen.

The eclipse made its first landfall in Chile at 3:22 pm (1922 GMT) in La Serena, a city of some 200,000 people where the arrival of more than 300,000 visitors forced the local water company to increase output and service gas stations to store extra fuel.

Police and health services were also reinforced.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" thousands of spectators shouted as they jumped and danced without taking their eyes off the sky. After a brief moment of silence, the yelling returned as the sun's rays began reaching Earth again.

Others shouted "Long live, Chile!" a chant used at sporting events. In northern Chile, meteorologists measured a three-degree Centigrade drop in temperature and in the center a two-degree drop.

"Today Chile is the world capital of astronomy," said Chilean President Sebastin Piera, alluding to the dozens of giant observatories in the country, which amount to about half the world's telescopic capacity.

"We are the eyes and senses of humanity to be able to look, observe and study the stars and the universe." In the Argentine town of Chascoms, dozens braved near-freezing temperatures and strong winds and claimed a spot at a pier in a lagoon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.

"I've been looking at the sky since my youth. My first telescope when I was a kid was made out of cardboard," said Ricardo Rumie, a 68-year-old veteran eclipse-watcher, who set up his camera with a tripod and a telescope with a sun filter along the banks of the lagoon. "I've seen other eclipses but