by Alison Price

My Eclipse Timeline

9:00am

I left home and made my way to the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza and Robson Square in the heart of Vancouver.

I found a spot on the steps high up where the early birds had gathered. You know those eclipse watchers that were there before me.

 

9:10am

With my super eclipse shades, I began to watch the eclipse and the Moon’s limb slowly crept over the disk of the Sun. Very exciting.

The guy next to me was photographing with a very expensive looking camera. Two young students about aged 19 sat down with two plates of bacon, fried eggs, and toast from the food truck nearby. They proceeded to tuck in and wolf the lot down.

9:50am

The Moon’s limb reached the center point of the Sun’s disk easing in from the right.

So far it has been a bright and sunny summer’s day in the city. The sky was blue and virtually cloud-free, so perfect eclipse viewing weather. By now it is still very hot and with a slight breeze.

10:00am

The Moon is now almost two-thirds over the Sun. Is it getting cooler? I believe it may be.

The crowd has grown as more people gather on the steps.

Many are using the pinpoint viewing method of projecting the eclipse onto a card or the back wall.

The excitement was getting palpable.

I tried to take a photo with my eclipse glasses but the shot is a very blurry orange blob. Clearly, I am not a great photographer.

 

10:05am

Feeling a bit cooler now. Lots of people on the steps. The excitement is stronger as the conversations flow amongst the strangers who have come together at this special moment in time. Keen eclipse they exchange opinions on the best way to view the eclipse.

Keen eclipse watchers exchange opinions on the best way to view the eclipse.

10:20am

We are now at maximum coverage for Vancouver at around 78%. It seems strange how the Moon is moving from the right to the left. Now it is as total as it gets and it is definitely cooler now. The crowd is at full capacity on the steps now.

At the maximum the Moon seems to be moving off towards the bottom of the Sun as the thin crescent of the Sun still glares through the light is still strong but not the heat. The shadows seem even longer but how can that be?

At the moment of maximum, the crowd cheers and yells and everyone is smiling. What a super community here in Vancouver.

I am so happy I chose this spot to view the eclipse. The Sun now look orange and nearly red through my super cool shades.

People start to share their viewing screens and some let the flood of lawyers from the courts nearby to see. I cannot tell you the community support and camaraderie here on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza.

This is truly a special place to live. I am grateful that my husband brought us here over five years ago.

 

The last solar eclipse I saw was in Phalaborwa on the Tropic of Capricorn at latitude 23S in the southern hemisphere. This solar eclipse is being watched on the forty-ninth parallel at latitude 49N on the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

Where will I see my next solar eclipse? Who knows but I will look in Solar Fire and find one close by or one that I can comfortably travel to.

I’ll definitely see you the next eclipse and I may even have special Starzology eclipse shades for you as well in my favourite cantaloupe colour.

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