Achi news desk-
When it comes to Monday’s total solar eclipse, Sarah Rughheimer is all in.
The 40-year-old professor of astronomy at York University will host a viewing party at the Royal Hotel in Picton, Ont., a small town in the Prince Edward County region of the province that finds itself in the eclipse’s path of totality.
However, right now, Monday’s outlook is uncertain, and Rugheimer doesn’t have a backup plan.
“I’m stuck at the Royal Hotel because that’s where I’m committed to being,” he told Global News on Friday.
“I couldn’t fall asleep last night because I was thinking about the comment in the cloud. This is my first total solar eclipse. I am 40 years old. I’ve never seen one. I’m so excited about it, and I’m a little worried that we’ll be clouded.”
Millions of Canadians to witness a rare celestial event
Millions of Canadians in parts of the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario will see either a partial or total solar eclipse, depending on where they live.
Cities and towns that find themselves in the path of totality – where a total solar eclipse will be visible – are expecting an influx of visitors. Niagara Falls, Ont., has declared a state of emergency ahead of the celestial event. Almost a million visitors are expected on Monday.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the Earth. However, a total solar eclipse occurs when the moon is perfectly aligned with the Earth and the sun, completely blocking sunlight and causing darkness for some time.
“The moon is actually blocking the sun where it’s all. (That’s) where … darkness falls, crickets chirp and all those strange effects (happen),” Rugheimer said.
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“You don’t get this at 99 percent. This is just 100 percent phenomenon.”
These celestial events are so rare for people living in affected regions that unless they travel to where the next solar eclipse is, they will likely never see it again.
In fact, the last time the path of a total solar eclipse crossed Canada was in 1979. After this year, the next time a total solar eclipse will be visible from Canadian soil is in 2044, when the path of totality passes through Britain. Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Will Mother Nature play spoiler?
Global News Chief Meteorologist Anthony Farnell said Friday that some of the best viewing could be in eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, as well as parts of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
However, those in southern Ontario will have reason to feel uneasy.
“Now, if you’re in Niagara or parts of southern Ontario, it’s iffy. It’s one of those days where we have this system that weakens as it approaches, so there’s a chance those clouds will leave in time for the eclipse, but there’s also a chance it’s a bit cloudy and that will definitely affect the viewing experience,” he said.
“In any given spot through southern Ontario, (there’s) a 60 to 70 per cent chance right now of it being cloudy for those minutes of totality.”
Farnell added that whether the eclipse will be visible during a cloudy period depends on the type of cloud.
“Even if there’s some cloud cover, you might be able to see the sun through it with high cirrus clouds – they’re made of ice crystals, so you can often see right through that,” he said .
“It’s just the denser, denser rain clouds… that you don’t want to see, and there’s a chance we’ll get that around Monday afternoon.”
If you can’t see the total solar eclipse, you’ll still be able to feel it, Farnell and Rugheimer explained.
When the moon completely blocks the sun, the temperature will drop slightly and wildlife will shift their behavior to their night routines for those few minutes.
“If you’re in Toronto, you won’t notice much because it’s going to be cloudy, you won’t see it get much darker. But as a whole, because that darkness is much more pronounced, it’s much more noticeable,” Rugheimer said.
“You’ll see the whole sky go dark and then light up again. So even if it’s cloudy as a whole, you’ll have something weird going on because all of a sudden it’s going to be dark and then it’s going to be light again.”
Regardless of the weather, Farnell said the total solar eclipse will be memorable.
“It’s going to be amazing one way or another, and just to be surrounded by thousands and thousands of others who are looking up at the sky and have this fundamental interest that has transcended so many generations,” he said.
“It’s quite amazing that we still have so much interest in this phenomenon.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
