Where will you be for the full solar eclipse on Monday afternoon? Many kids won’t be in school – either home for the day or dismissed early – and many people have taken the day off to head to Niagara region, gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The path of totality, where the sun goes directly behind the moon, will first cross through southwestern Ontario at around 3:15 p.m. and move east through Quebec and Atlantic Canada before exiting Newfoundland around 3:45 p.m. EST.
Toronto is just outside the area where the sun will be completely covered, but other cities like Niagara Falls, Ont., will experience the full path of totality.
Watch live coverage of the solar eclipse on CityNews 24/7. Our reporters will be front-and-centre of the epic event.
Niagara Falls: Stella Acquisto will be at Table Rock Centre with CityNews crews also at Queen Victoria Park and Sheraton Fallsview Hotel.
Hamilton: Michelle Mackey will be at the viewing party at Tim Hortons Field
Toronto: Audra Brown will be at the viewing Party at Downsview airport
Niagara Falls, which declared state of emergency ahead of the eclipse, is set to be a prime viewing location because it is nearly in the centre of the path of totality and the sun’s rays will be blocked for around three-and-a-half minutes. The blackout is set to happen at 3:18 p.m., but the eclipse period will be between 2:04 p.m. and 4:32 p.m.
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has a full list of resources for the eclipse, including links to timings in various cities.
Click here for a list of viewing locations and events across Ontario.
Experts urged the public to take extra caution and avoid looking directly at the eclipse, warning of potential retina damage. They said certified solar eclipse glasses should be used and sunglasses don’t offer the protection needed.
Around one million people are expected to descend on Niagara Falls, but weather may play a role during the viewing hours of the eclipse as the forecast calls for overcast conditions.
“So if it is overcast, that’s not ideal. We’ll hope for a break in the clouds. But one thing that you’ll get to see that you wouldn’t otherwise is the shadow of the moon sweeping in as it starts to cover over the clouds,” Dave Kirsh, an astronomy lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, tells Stella Acquisto.
“So you won’t get to see the area around the sun as much, which will be a shame, but it’s still going to be quite a sight. The darkness will still happen, the air temperature change and the quiet that’s supposed to happen, colour changes … so there’s still going to be a lot to see whether or not it’s cloudy.”
Hirsh said while solar eclipses do happen from time to time, this is a unique one.
“These sorts of things they do happen, but you got to be in the right place in the world at the right time to see it. So the last time a total solar eclipse happened in this area was 1925 and it won’t happen again till 2144 so it’s going to be a while. That’s actually pretty good because on average it’s supposed to be every 400 years or so for a certain place.”
“This is rare. Everyone in North America America will get to see a partial and partial eclipses happen pretty regularly Maybe you know once a year or so, but a total right here in our backyard is quite special.”
Canada’s telecommunication companies have also been preparing their networks for a surge in demand in areas along the eclipse’s path. Companies said additional infrastructure, such as portable cell towers, would be deployed to certain areas to prevent possible disruptions.
With files from Nick Westoll of CityNews; and The Canadian Press
