Nova Scotians flock to see solar eclipse
Safety gear was in high demand Monday as the Astronomy and Physics Department at Saint Mary’s University offered students and the community a space to watch the solar eclipse. The event was free to attend, if you were willing to wait in the long line that wrapped around campus.
The eclipse began at 3:27 p.m., and hundreds of people began lining up along Tower Road and Robie Street hours before. They wanted the chance to gear up on the SMU football field with glasses and telescopes.
Astronomy experts and volunteers trained in eclipse safety were present, providing viewers with certified solar viewing glasses, which complied with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 123-12-2, as well as solar telescopes.
On top of providing a safe space to watch the eclipse today, SMU also created an information page for the public to educate themselves on eclipse safety and resources.
Dr. Rob Thacker is a professor in the Department of Astronomy and Physics and Director of Outreach in the Faculty of Science at SMU. He said that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many.
“SMU has a long history of providing access to astronomical events for the community and the student community has been part of that for decades including the 2017 partial eclipse. Today’s event continues that tradition and will ensure people can take part with the appropriate safety precautions in place.”
He said that the free viewing glasses were provided by the office of the Dean of Science, and they purchased 500 of them in total.
Ceren Bal is a student in Marketing at SMU and said that she had a hard time finding trusted glasses for watching the eclipse today.
“We had to go down to the waterfront to find glasses. The lineup was too long outside of SMU, so we weren’t able to get any.”
The Halifax Central Library tweeted earlier today that they ran out of solar viewing glasses, which was a prime location this week for community members looking for safe eyewear.
SMU gave out one pair of glasses per small group, in efforts to allow access to glasses for everyone in line, but about half of the line was able to obtain a pair.
The eclipse reached maximum coverage at 4:38 p.m.