ASTRONOMIC LETDOWN?

Eclipse to be less than total here

While a sliver of the United States will get the rare opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse later this month, Edmonton residents will miss out on most of the shadow show because of how far north we are.

A strip of darkness about 100 kilometres wide — known as the path of totality — will, on Aug. 21, cross mainland America from Oregon to South Carolina, marking the first coast-to-coast crossing of the U.S. since 1918.

Such is the excitement among astronomers and the press south of the border, the event has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse.

As great it would be to be in the eclipse sweet spot, it’s slightly less exciting for those in Edmonton, as the maximum coverage of the sun by the moon when it passes over the River City will be 70 per cent.

Detectable dimming in daylight hours starts to happen at around 90 per cent coverage.

“The chances are, if you don’t know it’s happening, you probably won’t notice anything,” said Geoff Robertson, vice-president of the Edmonton chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

That’s part of the reason why Robertson and other members of the society are headed south to get in on the action.

Robertson said that he booked a hotel in Ontario, Ore., over a year ago to secure his spot to see the eclipse.

“I’ve seen lots of partial solar eclipses, but I’ve never seen a total solar eclipse and I don’t imagine I will be here when there is one in Edmonton in 2044,” Robertson said.

The upcoming eclipse will begin in Edmonton at 10:24 a.m., peaking at 11:35 a.m. and end at 12:49 p.m.

And, of course, the viewing opportunities are also dependent on the weather.

Long-range forecasts don’t go all the way to Aug. 21, but the historical average is 21 C with a 47 per cent chance of precipitation, meaning clouds could obscure the partial eclipse.

The RASC Observatory is hosting free activities at Telus World of Science between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will be offering free eclipse glasses on a first-come, first-served basis.

They will also have filtered telescopes available to safely view the eclipse.

The good news is that if you can hang around for 27 years, however, Edmonton will get the chance to witness a total solar eclipse on Aug. 22, 2044.