People in Canada’s eastern provinces will have the chance to witness a rare total solar eclipse on Monday. But even if you’re in the West, you can watch it all live here.
CTVNews.ca will have multiple live channels dedicated to giving you many ways to watch. It all starts here on Monday ahead of the 2 p.m. EDT eclipse.
Risks of watching outside
Do not look at the sun directly. NASA says the only safe time to directly view the sun is during the brief phase of totality when the moon fully covers it.
Eclipse watchers who want to see the event outdoors are reminded to wear eye protection, such as specialized solar filters, handheld solar viewers or eclipse glasses, which use special filters to reduce the intensity of the sunlight. Eye-care and astronomy experts warn that staring at the sun directly can damage your eyes. Sunscreen is also recommended to protect your skin since you will be exposed to the sun.
Make sure your eclipse glasses are certified by the International Organization for Standardization, labelled ISO-12312-2, which meets international safety requirements. Experts also recommend they are from a list of suppliers provided by the American Astronomical Society. You should only see the sun or light equally bright as the sun, not ordinary objects, using the solar glasses or viewers.
Dr. Shaina Nensi, vice-president of the Ontario Association of Optometrists in Toronto, said looking at the sun without protection could damage the retina, causing solar retinopathy. Although people won’t feel pain if retinas are damaged, retinopathy can lead to permanent or temporary blind spots, distortions to vision and the way people see colour, increased light sensitivity, eye pain and grittiness (or feeling like there is sand in your eye), and even complete blindness, Nensi said.
Because lenses amplify light rays, avoid viewing the sun through cameras, telescopes and binoculars. If you want to use those devices or take photos, use a special lens filter. If proper solar filters are attached to the front of a telescope, binoculars or camera lens, eclipse glasses aren’t needed, according to NASA.
Robert Cockcroft, assistant professor at the department of physics and astronomy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., says eclipse glasses should fit snugly enough that they won’t fall off if you shake your head. People who wear prescription glasses should make sure they fit underneath.
What it’s like to see total eclipse
Cockcroft described the experience of seeing a total solar eclipse in Nashville on Aug. 21, 2017.
He said it was more like a sunrise, or a sunset with colours all around the horizon, rather than being completely dark.
“You’ll see like a little Pac-Man shape starting to appear as the moon progressively moves more and more in front of the sun. The sun will start to appear more and more crescent-like through your eclipse glasses,” Cockcroft said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “It will get so dark in the sky that you’ll be able to see … Venus and Jupiter on either side of the sun and you’ll be able to see some of the brightest stars in the sky.”
This map shows the path of totality of the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. (Michael Zeiler/GreatAmericanEclipse.com)
When the moon started blocking most of sun’s light, he said, it felt like his eyes were going “cloudy” or misty. “It’s a very weird thing to see with your own eyes. It’s just you’re seeing daytime with much reduced level of light from the sun.”
Since the moon was blocking heat from the sun, he said it suddenly changed from being “disgustingly humid and hot” to becoming chilly enough that he put on a jacket.
During totality, you’ll also see parts of the sun’s outermost atmosphere called corona, he said.
“If you’ve never seen one before and you’re wondering what the big fuss is about then you have to see it,” he said. “We get to see this alignment that brings daytime to a halt and we suddenly get nighttime in the middle of the day and it’s a very impactful experience. It’s a very emotional experience for many people to witness something like this and you get a sense of us being in the solar system.”
