Free_Astronomy_-_SeptemberOctober_2019

16 SPACE^ CHRONICLES

A

mong the visitors who came to ESO’s La Silla Observatory

to view a total solar eclipse on 2 July 2019 were a number

of outreach partners, who also visited ESO’s other observato-

ries in the country. [ESO/M. Zamani]

T

he President of the Republic of Chile, Sebastián

Piñera, was greeted by ESO Director General Xavier

Barcons when he visited ESO’s La Silla Observatory on

the occasion of the total solar eclipse on 2 July 2019 and

the Observatory’s 50 years of operation. The President

was given a tour of La Silla’s world-class facilities, cele-

brating a fruitful partnership between ESO and host

country Chile. [ESO/M. Zamani]

P

anoramic view of the eclipse

site. [ESO/M. Zamani]

Member States win a trip to Chile to visit our sites. “Peo-

ple around the world made the voyage to Chile, hop-

ing for an unrivalled view of the solar corona as the

Moon passed between the Earth and the Sun, turning

day into night for almost two minutes,”explains Clau-

dio Melo, ESO Representative in Chile. “These visitors

were rewarded with pristine Chilean skies and a per-

chronicles EN_l'Astrofilo 29/08/2019 15:56 Page 16