Looking for solar eclipse glasses in Calgary? You might be out of luck

Anyone looking to buy some solar eclipse viewing glasses last minute in Calgary may have run out of time, as one astronomy enthusiast has come up short in her attempts to buy a pair in the city — and instead found luck with a generous neighbour.

While admitting she is “guilty of waiting too long,” Christine Scott said she was disappointed when she was unable to buy glasses so she could share the experience with her grandchildren, ages 5 and 8.

“I called the regular places, you know TELUS Spark, I called every London Drugs in town and they were sold out,” she said Thursday.

TELUS Spark told Global News Thursday they sold out of the glasses, which are in high demand, more than a week ago. London Drugs also said stores are sold out chain-wide.

All but two listings on Amazon.ca for solar eclipse viewing glasses are out of stock; one that has pairs in stock has an estimated shipping time of one to two months.

Experts at the University of Calgary expect Calgarians will be able to watch the moon cover about 80 per cent of the sun on Monday, Aug. 21. The eclipse is expected to happen between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

“The eclipse is most interesting say between 11:15 and 11:45 a.m. – that’s when the moon will be mostly covering the sun,” said Phil Langill, director of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory at the University Calgary.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The eclipse is most interesting say between 11:15 and 11:45 a.m. - that's when the moon will be mostly covering the sun," said Phil Langill, director of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory at the University Calgary.

Langill said the university will have viewing glasses on-hand at their Monday event, but they’re not for the taking.

WATCH: Global Calgary talks to Simon Poole of Simon J Astronomy about why the eclipse is exciting, how to watch it safely and where events are being held around town.

4:05 Watching the solar eclipse in Calgary

Scott, a retired nature writer, said she’s always had a love for everything related to nature and said she’d “hate to miss a celestial event.”

READ MORE: NASA to use 11 different spacecraft to measure the sun during solar eclipse

“I’ve seen a couple of partial eclipses and there won’t be another one of this magnitude, even though we will only see a partial… there won’t be another one in a long, long time. And I’m 71 years old,” Scott said.

“I was ready to go back to the cardboard box with a pinhole in it the way I did as a child.”

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The cardboard box-pinhole idea is one way people can safely and easily watch the eclipse, Langill said.

Simply poke a small pinhole  in a piece of cardboard, let the light from the sun pass through that hole and onto a piece of white paper about 25-30 centimetres away.

READ MORE: What Canadians can expect during the solar eclipse on August 21

“You are actually seeing a picture of the sun and you’ll see all the action in the palm of your hand.”

Luckily for Scott, however, her love of the moon and stars landed her two pairs of glasses. She was out looking for shooting stars a few nights ago and ran into some neighbours who, upon hearing about her problem, offered her two pairs they’d ordered from the U.S.