'Everybody is just in awe during totality': Eclipse presentations available
Three weeks before a rare total solar eclipse bathes the region in darkness, Windsorites are reflecting on eclipses past and are preparing for what will be the experience of a lifetime.
Tom Sobocan travelled to Kentucky in August 2017 to experience being in the zone of totality, where the sun is completely covered by the moon, during a total solar eclipse.
“Don't miss the experience on eclipse day,” said Sobocan who is a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Windsor Branch. “It's just this awesome thing in the sky with a sky colour that you've never seen before. Everything goes quiet and everybody is just in awe during totality.”
Steve Pellarin, a University of Windsor astronomer, said totality will happen shortly after 3 p.m. on April 8, 2024.
The first rule of watching an eclipse? Be sure to wear ISO certified solar eclipse safety glasses.
“Especially when the sun is covered mostly it doesn't feel that you're hurting your eyes but there still could be damage going on so you want to be very careful about that,” said Pellarin.
Pellarin has a website that can help guide your experience including where to see it. The viewing experience will be different if you are in the City of Windsor.
“We're going to get a pretty complete eclipse,” Pellarin said. “It's going to be about 99 per cent, but there's a huge difference between what you see at 99 and what you see in the zone of totality.”
“It will get darker. The shadows around you will start to change. They'll have very sharp edges around them. Animals will react to this. There might be a bit of a breeze that comes up. There might be a drop in temperature,” said Pellarin of the experience of those who aren’t in the zone of totality.
He also warned that weather could play a factor, especially if it is cloudy.
“There are maps available online that you can find out weather forecasts for other areas and you might be willing to travel,” he said.
The time under the eclipse will vary depending on where you are.
“If you're down at the tip of Point Pelee you might get a couple of minutes of darkness under the completely covered sun,” he said.
Pellarin is doing presentations from now until early April to help explain what to expect during the moments leading up to and following the eclipse.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.