2024 Solar Eclipse

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will pass through certain parts of New Brunswick, Canada. The areas of Fredericton, Woodstock, Florenceville-Bristol and Miramichi will all experience 100% totality, that is, a complete coverage of the sun. The path of this extraordinary cosmic event will also cross the southern tips of Ontario and Quebec, western P.E.I. and central Newfoundland.

What is a Total Solar Eclipse?

This is when the moon completely covers the sun. These two celestial objects appear to be the same size in the sky and when they happen to line up just right, the moon blocks the sun’s disc entirely in a very rare event called a total solar eclipse.

Getting Ready

The 2024 New Brunswick total solar eclipse will be a once in a lifetime event for many. The total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the Great American Eclipse, was witnessed by over 215 million Americans and by millions of visitors from across the globe. Many American towns and cities along the eclipse path were overwhelmed by these millions of unexpected visitors. By learning from the challenges of that event, New Brunswick has the opportunity to prepare for a successful and safe event of similar magnitude.

Safety

Total solar eclipses are widely regarded as one of the most breathtaking and amazing phenomena that you can observe; however, proper eye protection is needed. Viewing a solar eclipse without eye protection may cause serious permanent eye damage. We strongly advise that anyone planning to view the eclipse do so through special eclipse glasses, No. 14 welding glass, or specialized solar filters for use in telescopes and other optical viewing aids. These specialized protective aids allow you to look directly at the sun before and after totality. The only time you can ever safely view the total solar eclipse without eye protection is during the totality phase, which is only a very brief moment when the moon completely covers the sun.

The RASC New Brunswick Centre wishes everyone viewing the event to have fun, but to do so while taking the proper safety precautions to protect their eyes. For more information on solar eclipse safety, check out NASA’s 2024 Eclipse Safety Page.

Solar eclipse viewers are required to meet the safety standards of ISO 12312-2. Beware of fake counterfeit eclipse glasses that are not truly ISO-certified. Check out the American Astronomical Society’s list of vendors of safe solar filters and viewers (scroll down to Authorized Dealers of Products Made in North America or Germany).

Building a Solar Eclipse Projector

If you’re enable to secure a pair of ISO-certified eclipse viewers in time, you can build your own pinhole projector to safely view the eclipse. The Canadian Space Agency has posted instructions on how to build your own pinhole projector using household materials.

One of our RASC NB members, David Hunter, has a website for his Balloon Borne Solar Telescope (BBST) project. David came up with the idea and brought together a team which has made this project possible. All have worked very hard to bring it to fruition and they are excited to demonstrate the results to all who will be in Florenceville-Bristol on the day of the total solar eclipse.

We’re very proud of David and his team. We wish him (and us all) sunny, clear skies on the day of the eclipse.