Canada to witness rare total solar eclipse in 2024
For the first time in 52 years parts of Canada will experience a rare total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.
The path of this total solar eclipse will begin its North American journey on Mexico’s pacific coast at around 11:07 am PDT according to NASA.
From there it will journey through Texas and up through the United States until it enters parts of Southern Ontario in the late afternoon.
The eclipse will exit Newfoundland at around 5:16 pm NDT.
The expected trajectory of the 2024 solar eclipse. (Photo: eclipse2024.org)
(photo: eclipse2024.org)
“A lot of solar eclipses are not in convenient places,” explains Neel Roberts from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), Calgary Centre. “They are either in the ocean or in places where people don’t live and sometimes they are not easily accessible. This [total solar eclipse] is actually accessible by over half of the country and you can go by road or even by boat to see this thing. So it’s a legacy thing, it’s something that if you take your kids that they will remember this event.”
So what happens during a total solar eclipse?
Roberts witnessed the phenomena firsthand in Idaho in 2017 and recalls for a few minutes, daylight vanished into darkness.
“It was really life-changing,” he recalls. “It was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit that day and it dropped to about 60 F and it stays down for about 10 minutes because that’s when the moon is shadowing the sun.”
He adds he could see a pink hue along the horizon due to the refraction of the corona.
“You’ll also notice the animals go quiet for a very short period of time because they think its bedtime.”
When preparing to witness a total solar eclipse, Roberts recommends safety first by investing in proper eyewear or solar binoculars designed for viewing eclipses.
When preparing to witness a total solar eclipse, Roberts recommends safety first by investing in proper eyewear or solar binoculars designed for viewing eclipses.
(Photo courtesy Neel Roberts of his binoculars equipped with solar filters)
While western Canada is not in the direct path of this upcoming eclipse, Roberts says to mark your calendars for August 2044 when much of Alberta will be in the path of totality.
More information can be found at Calgary.rasc.ca.
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