Eyes on the sky

Perfect viewing weather gives people in P.E.I. front-row seats to solar eclipse

MILL RIVER, P.E.I. - People from P.E.I. and around the world brought their telescopes, homemade pinhole viewing boxes and cameras to West Prince to capture the solar eclipse on April 8.

The Mill River Resort, which was positioned perfectly to view the eclipse in its totality, hosted a solar eclipse viewing prior to the moon passing between the sun and the Earth in the late afternoon.

Throughout the afternoon, the resort hosted information sessions about eclipses, the mechanics of the solar system and the safe use of binoculars and eclipse glasses.

Ron Perry, a member of the Athena Community Astronomy Club in Summerside, gave a presentation on the mechanics of a solar eclipse, preparing attendees of all ages to safely observe the solar eclipse.

For the event, Perry donned a shirt with the phrase "twice in a lifetime," to mark the rarity of the April 8 total solar eclipse.

“You’ve got the sun, you’ve got the moon and you have the earth, and they have to be perfectly aligned to make this work. It’s only when the sun, mood and earth are perfectly aligned that you’ll get a solar eclipse,” Perry said.

Total solar eclipses are only in the new moon phase when the moon blocks the light of the sun. Everyone across P.E.I. will be able to witness a partial solar eclipse, but those west of Summerside will be able to observe a total solar eclipse starting shortly after three in the afternoon, Perry said.

“It’s kind of eerie to watch, but really, really cool,” Perry said.

“You’ve got the sun, you’ve got the moon and you have the earth, and they have to be perfectly aligned to make this work.”

Ron Perry

LOGAN MACLEAN • THE GUARDIAN Maeva Vandezante and Lucie Vouland wait at Victoria Park in Charlottetown the afternoon of April 8 for the anticipated arrival of the solar eclipse. A handful of other people sat on benches along the waterfront, while several others walked the boardwalk. Charlottetown was set to have about 99 per cent coverage of the sun, while the western end of the province saw a total eclipse. For more coverage of the solar eclipse, go to saltwire.com.