Favourable weather on the horizon in the Maritimes for Thursday's rare annular solar eclipse

Viewing parties were held across the Maritimes to take in the partial eclipse.

HALIFAX -

The weather in the Maritimes, for the most part, will cooperate for viewing of the annular solar eclipse Thursday morning.

The clearest conditions in the morning are expected to be in the western areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with minimal or thin, high cloud.

Viewing may be more obstructed on Prince Edward Island and eastern areas of Nova Scotia including the North Shore of the mainland and Cape Breton.

There, partly cloudy conditions and a chance of showers are forecast. Remember, the event takes place shortly after sunrise so it will be towards the eastern horizon.

Cooler temperatures and a gusty northerly wind are expected Thursday morning, so you may want to have something a little warmer to throw on.

If you don’t have a way to safely view the eclipse (ISO 12312-2 designated glasses, shade 14 welder glass, pinpoint projector) a number of sites plan to live stream video of the event.

A favourable forecast for viewing the annular solar eclipse Thursday morning. Possible obstruction of partly cloudy skies and showers for P.E.I and eastern Nova Scotia.

The event is an annular eclipse, and not total, as the moon is at its furthest orbital point from Earth so the shadow cast is not enough to completely eclipse the sun.

The event is sometimes known as a "ring of fire" eclipse because of this. The Maritimes is not in the path of totality for this eclipse so we will be limited to a partial eclipse of 60 to 70 per cent. The next total eclipse for North America will be on April 8, 2024 with the Maritime region in the path of totality for that event.

A partial solar eclipse will be viewable in the Maritimes at dawn on Thursday, June 10.

The annular eclipse begins at dawn for our region. For Halifax, it starts at 5:36 a.m., reaches a maximum at 6:33 a.m., and finishes at 7:35 a.m. Those times will vary slightly across the region depending on location. For example moving to Edmundston, N.B., the start is at 5:42 a.m., maximum at 6:39 a.m., and ends at 7:41 a.m. You can search your location or a near by location for timing of the eclipse online.

Like any solar eclipse, the event should not be viewed with the naked eye or with viewing glasses that are not compliant with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard. Doing so risks permanent damage to the eyes that could include blindness. You can find solar eclipse safety information from NASA.

You can build your own pinpoint viewing projector to watch the event. The government of Canada has a good guide available online, but I'm sure a quick google search would turn up several guides on how to construct and use one.

As always, viewing conditions will be weather dependent. As it stands, the outlook for next Thursday is for partly cloudy skies and a low chance of showers.