When is the next total solar eclipse? It’s time to plan for 2020

It’s back to South America on December 14, 2020 for a two-minute lunchtime totality

When is the next total solar eclipse? It’s on December 14, 2020, when totality will sweep across the South Pacific, southern Chile, and Northwestern Argentinian Patagonia.

For both countries, it will be the second totality in 18 months, so expect there to be a lot of local people already equipped with solar eclipse glasses.

So where should you head to?

There are two obvious places to go to in 2020. The first is Argentina. While the Andean foothills are best avoided because of the chances of cloud, but there is a vast, vast area of Patagonia that will see totality. A good tactic would be to stay in San Carlos de Bariloche or San Martin de los Andes in the beautiful Alpine-like Argentinean Lakes region, then drive a few hours north on the day. The best place? For a two minute totality at 1:07 pm local time a place predicted to have a great chance of clear skies, Peidra del Aguila is going to be hard to beat.

The other location to consider is Pucon in the Chilean Lake District. Here, you’ll find lots of tourism opportunities for boating, fishing, hiking, hot springs, and even volcano climbing. At 1:03 pm this area will see a totality lasting just over two minutes.

Pic credit: Pixabay