For thousands of people in Chile yesterday, the Moon passed directly between Earth and the Sun, casting a day-blotting shadow just prior to the real dusk. And of course, there are pictures.
Astronomers and space fans may have set up lawn chairs outside to watch the eclipse, but Nathaniel Frissell set up his ham radio. As the sky dimmed and daylight turned into an uncanny dusk, the reports started coming in: Communication was dying off over the 20m (14 MHz) radio band.
The rarity of solar eclipses — around one every 18 months — provides a small window for scientists to research the phenomena, especially when you have to be in the right place at the right time to study them at all. The European Space Agency has come up with an…