A rare total solar-eclipse plunged a vast swath of Latin America's southern cone into darkness Tuesday, briefly turning day into night and enthralling huge crowds in much of Chile and Argentina. Hundreds of thousands-of-people including large crowds congregated in La Higuera in Chile, a country that hosts some of the world's most powerful astronomical telescopes looked to the skies captivated by the breathtaking spectacle.

A partial solar eclipse or Surya Grahan, which will also be the last celestial spectacle of the year, will occur on August 11. The eclipse will be a partial one as the moon will cover only 65 percent of the solar disk. It is expected to begin at 1.32 pm and end at 5.00 pm (IST).