Vancouver is one of the best places in Canada to view Monday’s solar eclipse

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We’ve been talking about it for weeks, and the day has finally arrived.

People in Metro Vancouver will have one of the best vantage points in the country to check out this morning’s solar eclipse and you may be wondering what exactly to expect.

We’ll go from full sunlight to darkness in a short period as the moon aligns to block out the sun’s light. This will happen between 9:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. The eclipse is expected to peak at 10:21 a.m. precisely and over the course of the next hour the sun will return, eventually reappearing at about 11:30 a.m.


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Astronomer Derek Kief with the HR MacMillan Space Centre says if you want to experience it and you can cut work for a bit, go to the mountains or a flat field. “One of the interesting things that people don’t actually know about this is the event isn’t just about watching the sun, it’s watching the land around you. If you’re on a flat plain you can actually see this ominous shadow cutting across the earth towards you and that’s a really cool thing.”

You can look at it, but only for a short amount of time because you can seriously damage your eyesight by staring. Don’t be scared to look at it, but the best way to view it is to use solar sunglasses or a telescope. If you don’t have a pair of those sunglasses handy, Kief says you can view it through a colander. Put it about a metre over the pavement and you should be able to see a bunch of mini eclipses by moving it up and down.

“We’re going to have an awesome opportunity to actually observe the moon cutting in front of the sun, eclipsing about 86 per cent of the sun’s light. You’ll actually be able to see a couple of planets. We’re hoping today, we’ll be able to see Jupiter, Venus [and] maybe even Mars if it gets dark enough.”

Something you do need to be prepared for is a possible drop in the temperature, which could fluctuate by a few degrees depending on where you are in the Lower Mainland.

Kief acknowledges there are myths around the eclipse that your pets may go crazy, but he is reassuring you that’s not true. However, he stresses they may change their behaviour because they think it’s night and they may get ready to sleep.

“It’ll look like the sunset almost. It’ll look just like before the sun reaches the horizon and you’ll have more of that twilight dimming of the earth.”

NEWS 1130 Meteorologist Russ Lacate says the weather will be great for viewing the eclipse with just a few clouds in the sky.

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