There is a total solar eclipse happening on Monday, April 8th! A total solar eclipse in any particular location happens only once every 400 years! It's a pretty big deal that Eastern Canada will see the total eclipse!
Calgary will experience a partial eclipse. The next Total Solar Eclipse that we will see in Western Canada will be in August 2044! That's twenty years from now! How old will you be then?
Safety First
NASA says:
Partial or annular solar eclipses are different from total solar eclipses – there is no period of totality when the Moon completely blocks the Sun's bright face. Therefore, during partial or annular solar eclipses, it is never safe to look directly at the eclipse without proper eye protection.
When watching a partial or annular solar eclipse directly with your eyes, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun. Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and ought to comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard. NASA does not approve any particular brand of solar viewers.
Always inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer before use; if torn, scratched, or otherwise damaged, discard the device. Always supervise children using solar viewers.
Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.
If you don’t have eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer, you can use an indirect viewing method, which does not involve looking directly at the Sun. One way is to use a pinhole projector, which has a small opening (for example, a hole punched in an index card) and projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface. With the Sun at your back, you can then safely view the projected image. Do NOT look at the Sun through the pinhole!
More information : https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/
Total Solar Eclipse
From Nasa https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk.
Your experience of the eclipse will depend on where you are on the planet. The zone of totality ranges from Canada to Mexico. If you live in Montreal or anywhere along the eclipse’s path, you will experience a total eclipse. The further you are from the path of totality, the smaller the shadow that will block out the sun.
Map of 25 Most Populous Cities in the Path of the Solar Eclipse
Calgary's Partial EclipseOn Monday, April 8th between 11:48 am and 1:38 pm, the partial solar eclipse will be visible in Calgary.
Click 👇 From https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse-simulator/2024/51?elevation=1052
Slide the Time dot across (at the bottom) to see what the eclipse will look like as it passes over Calgary.
Slide Show
Check out this slide show about the eclipse. (Tricia MacKinnon, Learning Commons Librarian, CCSD)
Learning CommonsCome on up to the Learning Commons and borrow a book from our display!
