A rare solar event drew London residents of all ages to Western University’s UC hill, where organizers quickly distributed their supply of eclipse-safe glasses to more than 5,000 patrons.
“It pretty much just looks like the moon, except yellow,” said young Fin Dubois. He and his dad, Jay Dubois, spent the afternoon checking out the celestial view through a number of telescopes scattered across the grass.
“Fin, at home, has a couple of small telescopes that he uses just out of his bedroom window,” explained Jay.
“Today is kind of neat, because we get to use some real telescopes with some experts that can explain to us what we’re seeing, and see a lot further with more powerful scopes.”
Under the watchful eye of amateur astronomer Dave Clark, the pair looked at the partially covered sun through a Schmidt Cassegrain telescope.
“It’s a very short telescope. It’s 200 mm in width, and magnifying now around 60 power. I have it set up that way so we can see the full disc of the sun and the moon chopping a good chunk out of it,” said Clark.
Clark fielded questions from a lineup of people, waiting to use the special solar viewing equipment. While most people asked him about the telescope itself, others wondered about the eclipse’s path of totality, which stretched from Oregon to South Carolina in the U.S. and put millions of Americans into a midday twilight.
“The really interesting thing right now is we’ve got quite a few sun spots on the surface of the sun right now, these are areas that are higher temperature and more magnetic activity. They look like black dots. But they’re the size of the earth,” said Clark.
He hopes at least a few of the kids, like Fin, will grow up someday to become scientists or astronomers.
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Visitors encountered long line ups for free eclipse-safe glasses during the viewing event, organized by Western University’s Cronyn Observatory and the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
READ MORE: Solar eclipse 2017: Millions gaze up to catch a glimpse of the rare sight
“I didn’t think this would be a big event,” said Paige Habicht. She and Calvin DeLima were among those who didn’t get a pair of the special eyewear but were content to use telescopes instead. “It’s super cool that Western hosted this, and there was a place to come watch.”
While some waited in lines to use professional equipment, others shared home-made devices.
“This is a pin-hole projector or camera,” said Erica Morrill, who was inspired online to do some DIY.
“I remember when I was in elementary school, there was another solar eclipse and we had to put all the shades down and didn’t get to look outside. So it was really exciting to come here, and get some glasses, and try out this device to see the solar eclipse.”
Around 75 per cent of the sun was blocked at 2:30 p.m., and the eclipse ended in London at roughly 3:48 p.m.
READ MORE: Need more total solar eclipse in your life? The next one’s in 7 years
The next total solar eclipse will cast a shadow over parts of Southern Ontario and Quebec in April of 2024, with the path of totality passing near London.
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