Can’t see the solar eclipse?

Tune in online or on TV for coverage

LOS ANGELES Ronald Dantowitz has been looking forward to Monday’s solar eclipse for nearly 40 years.

An astronomer who specializes in solar imaging, he’s been photographing eclipses for more than three decades, and will be using 14 cameras to capture the Aug. 21 celestial event. The cameras have solar filters to capture the eclipse in its partial phases, along with custom modifications that can photograph the corona and light wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye, allowing scientists to view and study the sun’s temperature and composition in a way only possible during a total eclipse, he said.

Dantowitz, based at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Mass., is lending his expertise to NOVA’s Eclipse Over America, airing Monday on PBS (including many Canadian PBS stations). That hour-long special beginning at 9 p.m. EDT (check local listings for times in your area), which will incorporate his images, is among extensive coverage planned on TV and online of the first solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in 99 years.

North America’s first full solar eclipse in decades will sweep across the continental United States beginning at 9:05 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday.

It will bring with it a wave of dark shadow that travels more than 3,000 km/h, blacking out the sky for minutes at a time in a narrow band from Oregon to South Carolina.

But in Canada, only a distant, pale cousin of the U.S. totality will be visible, and only then in certain spots. The best Canadian eclipse views will happen in and around Victoria, where as much as 90 per cent of the sun will be blacked out. Vancouver and Calgary will both enjoy over 80 per cent coverage, while a host of other cities, including Toronto, Regina, London, Edmonton and Thunder Bay will see the moon occlude more than 70 per cent of the sun.

Witnessing totality — when the sun is completely obscured by the moon — can be done with the naked eye, not a camera, Dantowitz said.

He said only the eclipse in its totality is safe to view without special lenses, but not the partial phases beforehand or after.

“Enjoying totality by eye is more rewarding,” he said. “There is much to see: stars during the daytime, the million-degree solar corona, and seeing the sun blacked out during the daytime.

“I have been waiting almost 40 years for this eclipse, and although I will be operating 14 cameras during totality, I will certainly take a moment to gaze at the eclipse the same way people have done for thousands of years: with wonder.”

For those not in the 14 U.S. states comprising the eclipse’s “path of totality,” here’s a look at some of the viewing opportunities online and on TV:

Eclipse of the Century: CNN plans two hours of livestreaming, 360-degree coverage accessible in virtual reality through Oculus headsets beginning at 1 p.m. EDT. Accompanying television coverage will include reporting from Oregon, Missouri, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Eclipse Over America: The PBS science series NOVA is planning a quick turnaround on its eclipse documentary premièring Monday at 9 p.m. EDT. Senior executive producer Paula S. Apsell said Eclipse Over America, which delves into why eclipses occur, will incorporate images of the event from across the country shot earlier that day with Dantowitz’s high-tech cameras.

The Great American Eclipse David Muir will anchor ABC’s two hours of live coverage, with correspondents reporting from across the country. NBC also plans live coverage, with Lester Holt hosting special reports at 1 and 2 p.m. EDT featuring correspondents reporting from Oregon, Illinois, Wyoming and South Carolina.