Grab your solar eclipse glasses!
A once in a lifetime solar eclipse will be moving across eastern Ontario this afternoon – an experience that is sure to be memorable and that won’t be seen again in Canada for another 20 years.
Follow CTVNewsOttawa.ca starting at 2 p.m. as the eclipse moves across the region.
The partial eclipse begins the moment the edge of the moon touches the edge of the sun. Totality begins when the edge of the moon covers all of the sun and totality ends when the edge of the moon exposes the sun. The partial eclipse ends the moment the edge of the moon leaves the edge of the sun.
The eclipse is set to start at around 2 p.m. and end at around 4:30 p.m. in Ontario, but that time will change depending on location.
Public schools across Ontario, including the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board, are closed for the day.
A full list of public schools closed in eastern Ontario can be found here.
Ontario Provincial Police is asking people and tourists heading to the eastern Ontario cities on Monday to view the solar eclipse to drive safely and expect delays. Police say while safety is the top priority, caution and patience are recommended for drivers travelling to attend the solar eclipse events.
Ottawa will see a partial solar eclipse, with about 98.87 per cent of the sun being covered by the moon. The event will begin at 2:11 p.m. and will reach its peak at 3:25 p.m. The event will end by 4:45 p.m.
Kingston, Brockville, Belleville, Cornwall and eastern Ontario towns along the Canada – U.S. border, are the places where conditions will be ideal for viewing the total eclipse, where the moon will fully cover the sun for about two to three minutes.
The total eclipse can be viewed in Belleville from 3:21:37 to 3:23:41 p.m. (2 minutes and 4 seconds); Kingston from 3:22:15 to 3:25:19 p.m. (3 minutes and 4 seconds); in Brockville from 3:23:28 to 3:26:15 p.m. (2 minutes and 47 seconds); and in Cornwall from 3:24:58 to 3:27:14 p.m. (2 minutes and 16 seconds).
More details on times for the eclipse across eastern Ontario can be found here.
Asser El Gindy is getting ready for a once in a lifetime solar eclipse on Monday. April 6, 2024. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa).
The “path of totality” will pass through the southern half of the city of Montreal at 3:26:49 to 3:28:16 p.m. (1 minute and 27 seconds). Totality will just miss Toronto, but will be visible in Hamilton, St-Catharines and Niagara Falls.
It will exit continental North America on the coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 p.m. NST.
Cities along the U.S. – Canada border are anticipating hundreds of thousands of visitors. Kingston is expecting 500,000 visitors, while Niagara Falls went as far as to declare a state of emergency as it expects over one million visitors.
A map shows the path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. (NASA)
Experts are asking people to make sure their solar eclipse glasses are safe to use and not counterfeit. This comes after receiving several reports saying glasses sold by some of Amazon’s private sellers do not provide the necessary protection.
Safe sun glasses must comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard. You can view the eclipse directly without proper eye protection only when the moon completely obscures the sun’s bright face – during the brief and spectacular period known as totality.
There are a variety of other ways to view the eclipse without glasses, including through a homemade eclipse projector.
The Canadian Space Agency warns that looking directly at the sun without appropriate protection during the total solar eclipse, “can lead to serious problems such as partial or complete loss of eyesight.”
Weather forecasts across the region show higher than average seasonal temperatures with no precipitation expected. The question remains whether the cloud cover will be patchy enough to view the eclipse.
Ottawa last saw a partial solar eclipse in the early morning of June 10, 2021, which covered about 80 per cent of the sun.
The next total eclipse visible in Canada won’t be until Aug. 23, 2044 and will be visible in the Rockies.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Toula Mazloum and Josh Pringle
CTV News Ottawa will have special live coverage of Monday’s solar eclipse.
Watch CTVNewsOttawa.ca from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 8. You can also tune in to Newstalk 580 CFRA for continuing coverage.
CTV News will have coverage from Kingston, Brockville, Ottawa and the Niagara Region.