Wednesday afternoon in Newfoundland and Labrador, weather permitting, individuals gazing skyward were treated to a partial solar eclipse. The partial eclipse began at 1:37 AT (2:07 NT) in Churchill Falls, gradually spreading across the province. The event is scheduled to conclude in St. John’s at 4:37 p.m. NT, with the moon projected to obscure around 50% of the sun, varying based on location.
At the Johnson Geo Centre in St. John’s, a lively watch party equipped with special safety viewing glasses observed the moon’s slow traversal in front of the sun from noon to 5 p.m. NT. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and STEM Girls joined in the event. Neilson, an astronomer from Memorial University, expressed his amazement at witnessing the moon gradually covering the sun through a telescope, highlighting the rarity of this event occurring approximately every 50 years.
Andrea van Nostrand, the lead of education and interpretation at the Geo Centre, emphasized the spectacular nature of the eclipse, noting the engaging activities for children to create solar viewing tools to witness the event safely. A total solar eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a small portion of Portugal.
For mother-daughter duo Jennifer Waye and Gabriela Fuentes Waye, who traveled to Spain to witness the total eclipse two years ago, the allure of experiencing the event again led them to Europe. Alert, Nunavut, was anticipated to offer the most complete view of the solar eclipse in Canada, with 94% coverage of the sun.