Rare spectacle of nature
Partial solar eclipse sweeps through Summerside sky
Under clear blue skies, members of the Athena Community Astronomy Club gathered to witness a rare celestial event.
Silence fell across the waterfront boardwalk as a partial solar eclipse swept over the Island at around 3 p.m. on Monday.
“We’re not in a good position to see a total eclipse, which is really just going through the central part of the U.S.A.,” explained Ron Perry, president of the Astronomy Club, based in Summerside.
“But what we are seeing today looks similar to a bite out of the sun. Imagine someone with a cookie and they take a bite out of it; well that’s the image you will see.”
The astronomy club members were offering people, who were going about their business along the Green’s Shore area, solar shades to view the
celestial phenomenon. Perry warned, “The sun is so powerful that if you look at it even for a couple of seconds it can do irreversible damage to your eyes.”
He added, “These glasses are very special. They contain a material called mylar, which is a thin layer of aluminum and other material that is blended together, and it permits only a
certain element of the light to come through.”
A solar eclipse is when you have a perfect alignment between the Earth, moon and sun. It can last as long as seven minutes.
“The moon is directly in the middle, which is a rare phenomena. This only happens once every few years.
In fact, we’re quite fortunate in P.E.I.,” acknowledged Perry.
A total solar eclipse will take place over the Island in April 2024.
In addition to the solar shades offered to the public on Monday afternoon, the members of the club had a telescope projecting an image of the sun and moon onto a white panel.
“It’s a four-inch Bushnell reflector, which means it has a mirror in it which reflects the image of the sun. Now we’re not going to use the telescope to actually look at the sun, but to instead project an image onto a white sheet of paper.”
Perry continued, “If I were to look at the sun through a telescope it would instantly burn my eyes.” He warned, “Instantly. Same way that if you took a magnifying glass to burn a hole in a piece of paper, the same thing would happen to your eyes.”
Michael Nesbitt, a member of the astronomy club for more than 30 years, said, “The fact that this astronomical event can be seen so widely makes it interesting. It’s great to be a part of it, and it’s the idea of bringing people together. It’s the idea of ‘I saw that.’”
The Athena Community Astronomy Club is having stargazing events every Wednesday evening, next to the Shipyard Market.
“Over the eight nights that we have been out here, seven have been good for viewing. And right now, Jupiter and Saturn are perfectly positioned for viewing. You can also see the edge of the Milky Way from here,” Perry grinned.