What if it’s cloudy on eclipse day? Volunteers in Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., have you covered
It’s a sinking question hovering above the growing excitement for this spring’s total solar eclipse: what if April 8 is a cloudy day?
A group of local volunteers in Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., has been working over the past several years to ensure a perfect view of the spectacle, regardless of any cloud cover.
The town (within the District of Carleton North) is already positioned perfectly within the eclipse’s path of totality and will also serve as the launch site for a helium balloon following the event high above central New Brunswick.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon aligns precisely between the sun and Earth, blocking light. This April’s eclipse will follow a path of totality over central New Brunswick during the late afternoon, with totality lasting up to three minutes and 20 seconds in some areas.
The helium balloon will carry a solar telescope for what’s believed to be the first non-governmental project to transmit images from the stratosphere in real time.
“We have to deal with both aviation authorities in Moncton and in Boston,” says project lead David Hunter. “So a lot of work went into this, getting this launch possible.”
Hunter, a retired medical physicist, was inspired to mark this spring’s eclipse after experiencing the 2017 total solar eclipse in Wyoming, Neb.
When he moved back to his hometown, Hunter learned Florenceville-Bristol was directly under the 2024 eclipse’s centre line of totality.
What he initially thought would be a small endeavour to celebrate the occasion has become a community wide effort, with about 30 volunteers filling multiple roles.
“It’s nerve-wracking but I’m feeling a bit more relaxed these days because most of the technical challenges have been overcome,” says Hunter. “We’re still making some improvements.”
One of the biggest challenges will be keeping the solar telescope focused on the eclipse, as the rotating payload it will sit on tips and bounces in the air.
“At the same time there will be other cameras looking around, not just at the sun, but looking at the landscape, and the clouds,” says Hunter. “We hope to see the approaching shadow of the moon from the west when it comes here to New Brunswick.”
Members of the public will be able to watch the solar telescope balloon launch in person on April 8 from Florenceville-Bristol, near the Amsterdam Inn.
Images from the solar telescope will be streamed in real time online, as well as viewing events at five local arenas.
Test launches of the helium balloons have taken place over the last several months. On Wednesday, volunteers gathered near the launch site to conduct a check of images being transmitted from the payload.
“I initially got involved thinking I would only be spending a few hours on this and a couple hundred hours later I basically do all of the communications,” says Stephen Downward, a volunteer with the project. “There’s just so many moving parts.”
Where exactly the helium balloon travels and lands will depend on the weather, however atmospheric models are being used to project its trajectory with four tracking devices attached.
“We have a recovery team that will go out and recover the payload,” says Hunter. “We’re downloading all the data live, so if we don’t recover the images it’s not game over. We’ll have all the images.”
While a cloudy day would be disappointing on April 8, Hunter (who’s also a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada New Brunswick Centre), says severe weather or high winds could ultimately ground the balloon for launching on eclipse day.
“We’re hoping the weather will co-operate enough for us to launch,” says Hunter.
Volunteers with the solar telescope project also met on Wednesday with the local RCMP and fire department to develop crowd and traffic plans. Col. Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station, is scheduled to be in Florenceville-Bristol for an event following the eclipse.
Last week, the local Anglophone West School District confirmed school would be dismissed three hours early on April 8, ahead of when the eclipse is scheduled to start around 3:30 p.m.
April’s solar eclipse will also be seen in other parts of Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, as well as portions of the United States and Mexico.
After 2024, New Brunswick’s next total solar eclipse will occur on May 1, 2079.
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
PWHL Minnesota defeats Boston to win inaugural Walter Cup
Minnesota won the inaugural championship of the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Wednesday night, getting 17 saves from Nicole Hensley to beat Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and claim the Walter Cup.
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."
Oilers rally to beat Stars, tie Western Conference Final
With the Edmonton Oilers down two goals late in the first period of Game 4, Rogers Place was quiet, fans seemingly bewildered at the early, quick scoring of the Dallas Stars and the slow start by the home team. Ryan McLeod's marker with six-and-a-half minutes in the opening frame left changed all that.
McDonald's says $18 Big Mac meal was an 'exception' and their prices haven't risen that much
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
'Targeted again': Montreal police investigate after gunshot fired at Jewish school
Police are investigating another building in Montreal's community was struck by gunfire.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
Poilievre says Canadians 'fleeing' to Nicaragua, Liberals say it shows he 'doesn't have a clue'
Liberal parliamentarians are criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over a new video in which he promotes the idea that some Canadians are 'fleeing' Canada to live in Nicaragua because they can't afford a house in this country.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.