Millions of people across North America fell into chilly midday darkness on Monday as a total solar eclipse slid across the continent for the first time in seven years, leaving crowds to experience a phenomenon they won’t see in the same place again for decades.
Parts of southern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes were momentarily plunged into the dark as the moon slid between the sun and the Earth over the course of a few hours in the afternoon. In Kingsville, Ont., south of Windsor, cheers broke out as the sky dimmed and the sun’s corona — a ghostly white ring around its outer edge — became visible to the human eye.
“This is incredible. That diamond ring … that’s gorgeous,” said CBC’s Chris Ensing, standing at the edge of Lake Eerie during totality. “What a moment.”
Clouds threatened to block the view of the sun in many areas within the path of totality, but the thin layer of clouds didn’t seem to make much of a difference as the moon cast its shadow over parts of Canada. Some crowds cheered at the sight overhead, like those in Kingsville, while others went quiet.
Thousands of people in Mazatlán, Mexico, were first to experience totality at 1:05 p.m. ET. Sitting together in deck chairs on the coastline, crowds looked skyward through eclipse glasses as the show began.
Despite overcast skies, thousands of people in Niagara Falls, Ont., celebrated as they caught a glimpse of the total eclipse.
“It was absolutely remarkable. The sky was a little bit cloudy … but the eclipse totality was not obscured at all,” said Joy Daniels, an eclipse chaser who travelled to Mazatlán from her home in Calgary with 13 friends and family members.
“It went quite dark…. The birds, they all went to sleep and the temperature went way, way down.”
The eclipse over the southern Pacific Ocean before reaching Mexico. The darkness moved up into the United States, starting in Texas, and continued northeast before totality reached Canada around 3 p.m. ET.
As the moon blocks the sun over Mazatlán, Mexico — one of the first parts of North America to experience totality — CBC’s Heather Hiscox and Astronomy in Action’s Ryan Marciniak break down what people are seeing.
In Canada, the path of totality — the stretch where the moon will block the sunlight entirely — included parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador.
People outside the path of totality in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes could see partial solar eclipse by early afternoon, with just a chunk of the sun obscured by the moon.
Here’s what else you need to know.
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. People watching from the path of totality experience what’s called a total solar eclipse. The sky goes dark as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the sun’s corona, the white ring usually washed out by the bright light of the sun.
Outside the path of totality, the moon moved between the sun and Earth — but the three didn’t line up perfectly. Only a part of the sun was covered, giving it a crescent-like shape.
After Monday, the next total solar eclipse over North America won’t be until Aug. 23, 2044.
Beyond that, this event was particularly special because the path of totality passed over densely populated parts of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. (Most solar eclipses happen over the ocean.)
This one was also a longer show, with darkness lasting nearly two minutes longer over some areas in the path of totality than the last solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017.
Yes. It’s always dangerous to look at the sun with the naked eye. Space agencies and ophthalmologists agree that looking at a partial solar eclipse without approved eye protection can cause lasting eye damage. The Canadian Space Agency and NASA have both extended advice for protecting your vision.
Eclipse glasses are sold at a variety of stores, both in person and online, but it’s important to check for one key feature: Your glasses should be marked with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2 code. That code specifies the properties that a solar viewer should have to protect your eyes.
Photographers don’t recommend it. Just like the immense amount of direct light from the sun can damage your eyes, it can damage the lens of a camera.
If you’re really compelled to take a photo of the sun, photographers say you should cover the lens with a solar filter — though they say their favourite photos are the ones that captured people as they experience the show.
Busier than usual. Many photographers and eclipse chasers spent months, if not years, planning for the total solar eclipse. Some have spent thousands of dollars travelling to what they hoped would be the best vantage point. Cities in the path of totality expected hundreds of thousands of people to flood their communities on Monday, potentially creating traffic jams. (Niagara Falls, Ont., was expected to be so crowded that the region declared a state of emergency 11 days in advance.