Easter Island Eclipse – by Mike Frost

 

Easter Island Eclipse - a talk by Mike Frost

 

On October 2nd 2024, a annular eclipse crossed the southern Pacific Ocean, and the lower part of Patagonia in South America.

 

The first land crossed by the track of annularity was Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui. Easter Island is seriously remote - the nearest human settlement is Pitcairn, 1100 miles away, the nearest airport in Chile, 2200 miles away.

 

I was the guest astronomer on the Astro-Trails tour to Santiago, Chile, and then Rapa Nui. My group observed the eclipse from the slopes of the extinct Rano Kau volcano.

 

And of course we got to see the amazing Moai statues, built by the Rapa Nui. What an extraordinary place.

 

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