Rare eclipse of the sun Monday afternoon

courtesy Vuttichai Chaiya
More than half of the sun will be hidden by the moon Monday afternoon in Montreal.

Frederick T. Muckle

Sunday, 20 August 2017 17:20

UPDATE
Sunday, 20 August 2017 23:00

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Quebecers will be able to witness a rare partial solar eclipse Monday afternoon, as the moon will hide more of the half of the star light.

• READ ALSO: [VIDEO] How to watch the eclipse without going blind

To 14 hours, the moon will begin to pass between earth and the sun, hiding part of it for a few hours.

To 15 hours at the peak of the eclipse, more than half of the sun will be hidden on the south of Quebec.

But a serving of 100 kilometers wide, located in the United States will be entitled to a total eclipse of the sun for the first time in 99 years in the United States.

During a total eclipse, the night falls literally in the middle of the day when the moon aligns with the sun.

“He is so black that the flowers begin to close, birds stop singing and the animals will go to sleep,” says Robert Lamontagne, coordinator at the Centre for research in astrophysics of Quebec, and a researcher at the University of Montreal. It is the night for a few minutes […] we can even see stars in daylight.”

The next total solar eclipse visible in Montreal and southern Quebec will occur on April 8, 2024, while the last took place on 31 August 1932.

Dangerous

The ophthalmologist Cynthia Qian warns that it is extremely important you do not observe the sun without sunglasses protective during the eclipse certification ” ISO 12312-2 “.

Sunglasses traditional are not sufficient to observe the eclipse.

She explains that when we look at the sun with or without eclipse, our eye will react to in a way similar to a magnifying glass under the ray of light capable of setting fire to a pile of twigs.

“Except that in this case, the light will focus on the retina, [ … ] and burn the bottom,” says Ms Qian.

It is for this reason that it is necessary to take protective measures to observe the moon pass in front of the sun.

For example, it is false that one can observe safely the eclipse through a negative photographic film, or with sunglasses traditional.

Please note that it is necessary to use special filters to use a camera, binoculars or a telescope even if you wear goggles.

For the people not having been able to obtain the sunglasses, it is possible to cobble together a “device” using a cardboard box with holes.

This option does not directly observe the eclipse, but rather to see the projection of the moon aligning with the sun on a sheet of paper or other surface.

Where to observe the eclipse?

Several places lend goggles to view the eclipse in Montreal. Here are a few.

The Montréal planetarium – 4801, avenue Pierre-De Coubertin – 13h-15h45

University of Montreal – Terrace-parking Louis-Colin at 5255, avenue Louis-Colin – from 13h

McGill university 845 Sherbrooke street West – From 13h to 16h

Arena Dorval – 1450 avenue Dawson – From 13h to 16h