By Canadian Press

Partial solar eclipse could be seen in B.C., but forecast may hamper view

Oct 14, 2023 | 6:29 AM

VANCOUVER — Residents in southwestern British Columbia are in the best place to view the solar eclipse this morning.

The event is known as a ring-of-fire eclipse, where the moon passes in front of the sun but doesn’t completely cover it, leaving a fiery rim around the dark moon.

The eclipse starts at 8:08 a.m., peaks at about 9:20 a.m. and will be finished by 10:38 a.m. in Vancouver, though the weather forecast may be a damper for viewers.

Environment Canada is predicting clouds and showers in much of southwest B.C., where the moon will block out 70 to 80 per cent of the sun, while the rest of the province will see 50 to 70 per cent coverage.

Should the weather interfere, Laura Flinn, a physics instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, says North Americans don’t have long to wait for their next shot at seeing the phenomenon.

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A complete solar eclipse will happen on April 8, 2024, and will be viewable over parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Flinn says she is hopeful the sky will clear before the eclipse’s peak so B.C. residents won’t have to wait or travel to see another eclipse in person.

She says the university, which is hosting a viewing event to ensure people are doing so safely, is reminding people not to look directly at the sun.

“All of us sort of like just glance at the sun occasionally, but the danger with the eclipse is you get mesmerized watching the moon and you stare at it too long, and then you can damage your eyes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2023.

The Canadian Press