Monday, August 21, 2017

Clouds will intrude on Prince Rupert's Solar eclipse experience

It's show time for the Sun, as the 2017 Solar eclipse
transits across Oregon and to the Southeast of North America

(Map from the The Weather Network)

The Weather Gods will be sending you to your computers or television screens this morning, as the last week of cloudy and wet weather continues on this Monday morning, making today's total eclipse of the Sun, which starts shortly after 9 AM a somewhat diminished event for the North Coast.

As it was, from our northern exposure we were only going to see about 60 per cent or so, of the total eclipse owing to the path of the event today, with Oregon the best west coast location for viewing the full on eclipse.

Victoria is Canada's best viewing spot for the morning transit, with a 91 percent eclipse to be part of their vista, something which has already found a large volume of eclipse worshippers setting up in the provincial capital.

Even with the reduced viewing option of the North Coast, being cautious while viewing the eclipse is something that is being stressed by health and astronomy officials.

Towards those cautions NASA has provided some helpful background information on how to view the eclipse safely.

As well they have released a video presentation that offers up some advice on the best way to safely view an eclipse.



As for the celestial spectacular itself, in addition to their safety advice, NASA is also offering an online eclipse experience for those that can't see the sky through the clouds.

The NASA live stream of eclipse as it occurs across Oregon and  along its path to the Southeast USA can be viewed here.

Those looking to dig deep into the world of solar eclipses may find the Podcast StarTalk to their liking, a range of topics related to today's event can be reviewed from their archives.

The 2017 Solar eclipse is the closest that BC will get to the full event until 2044, that's when the path of the eclipse will see the show in the sky travel along the Rocky Mountains.

However, if you can hang on with us until 2099, Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert may be the hot travel destination for eclipse viewers.

The path of the solar eclipse of 2099 will bring the transit and merging of the Sun and Moon right over both locations. Viewing options, of course will be weather dependant ...


The solar eclipse spotlight will be on Haida Gwaii and 
the North Coast, but you'll have to wait until 2099 for that show.
(Map from Great American eclipse.com)


Until then, here are some other notes for your review on the 2017 eclipse:


Everything Canadians should know about the eclipse
Vancouverites might not need to travel to witness solar eclipse
Solar eclipse 2017: Can you really go blind if you stare at the event?
Solar eclipse 2017: Everything Canadians need to know about the event
Solar eclipse's impact on animal behaviour to be monitored by U.S. biologists
'Day and night': Partial eclipse won't bring awe of totality to B.C., but still promises to impress
'In terms of celestial events it's going to be pretty neat'
How solar eclipses changed from terrible omen to tourist draw
Monday's solar eclipse: Where to go and how to watch it
Canadians are crashing various viewing events to catch a partial eclipse 
Victoria has great options available for public viewing of eclipse
Stargazers in heaven over Monday's solar eclipse
Solar eclipse linked to higher gas prices in Vancouver
Into the shadow
Total solar eclipse headlines summer astronomy in 2017
Five things to know for watching Monday's Solar eclipse


Update: The Weather Gods in the end offered up a temporary reprieve for North Coast eclipse viewers, with the sun playing peek a boo through the Western North American transit of the event.

Those taking brief glimpses of the Sun through the 9 AM hour were treated to occasional glimpses of the Moon passing in front of the Sun and while not quite the show that those to the South have seen, it did at least give the Northwest a sense of participation in the day's most talked about topic.

Some shared their snapshots through twitter, with the local event noted through the #PrinceRupert feed.


No comments:

Post a Comment