Where were you when the Aug. 21 solar eclipse reached its totality?
I, unfortunately, was at work for much of the celestial event but I did catch parts of it and this year’s eclipse was the first time I’ve ever watched one through a well-constructed pin-hole viewer.
In case you were wondering, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between our planet and the sun. A total eclipse, such as the one experienced by the entire contiguous United States, happens when the moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the sun’s and blocks out all direct sunlight.
Canada experienced a partial eclipse however — British Columbians had 89 per cent of totality while Nunavut had only 11 per cent.
For me, this was the first; according to astronomers, NASA and other agencies, this type of event has not been visible across the entire country since June 8, 1918.
In 1994, when I was in Grade 8, I witnessed a partial eclipse in Ontario and was overcome by how quickly day turned to night.
Along with most of the people who live in the parts of the world that were bathed in 75 per cent to total darkness, this eclipse was one I did not want to miss.
I’m glad the weather played nice and it turned out well.
I don’t have expensive camera gear nor solar filters to protect my equipment, so I have to make due with colleague-shared photos and the envy-worthy pictures that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared with the world.
If you haven’t seen them, visit https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/22/epic-total-eclipse-photos-from-atop-facebooks-oregon-data-center.html.
According to astronomers, we likely won’t see another total eclipse until April 2024 and August of 2044.
By then I’ll be 43 and 64 respectively.
Maybe when the next one comes around I’ll have saved enough money to have something good enough to snap my own wall-worthy shots.
The event, as they always are, are worth watching so if you didn’t get a chance to see it, I’m sorry you missed it.
Save the dates on your calendar or in your smart phone because they don’t happen as often as partial eclipses do.
