Richard Smith lined up for a good 10 to 15 minutes for his chance to peer through a North Bay Astronomy Club’s telescope to view today’s partial eclipse.
“You could see the dark outline of the moon,” described the North Bay native who took part in the viewing along the shores of Lake Nipissing next to The Boat restaurant.
“I was surprised at how complete the shadow is as it crosses the large orbit of the sun which fills the lens there or the eyepiece.”
Mother Nature hadn’t decided what she was going to do weather-wise in North Bay as both Environment Canada and the Weather Network had different forecasts.
However, the cloudy Environment Canada forecast was not accurate, but the Weather Network one was. That news put a smile on the face of Merlin Clayton, who is one of the original members of the North Bay Astronomy Club, and one of the organizers of Monday’s waterfront event.
“Somebody is looking down on us and helping us with this one because a lot of times we have a special event like this and it clouds over and we miss the whole thing so I’m really pleased this has turned out so well,” he said.
Clayton was surprised at the turnout, as his paper sunglasses went much quicker than expected.
“The news media has been really pushing these glasses, so they didn’t last long at all,” he said.
Clayton enjoys seeing and hearing the reaction of visitors after they have peered through the telescope. It makes organizing an event that much more worthwhile.
“They think the view is awesome, it’s a rare thing, you do not really see it. But having the telescopes besides the glasses you can really get in close and you can see half of the sun, not the whole thing, and seeing the eclipse creeping into it,” described Clayton.
“What I find interesting is the comments I get when people look through the telescope and see what’s happening. The comments are just marvelous to listen to.”
Anyone who misses out today will have to wait until 2024 when Ontario is expected to be a prime location for a total eclipse.
