This afternoon, the moon is going to move between the sun and Earth, shrouding a sliver of southern Quebec in darkness for a few minutes.
But you have to be in the right spot at the right time to fully experience the phenomenon.
That means positioning yourself along the path of totality — a corridor approximately 200 kilometres wide and 14,700 kilometres long across North America.
For example, most of Montreal falls within the path, but Laval does not. Meanwhile, Sherbrooke is near the path’s centre.
That means those in Montreal will see the eclipse for roughly one minute, 25 seconds, while those in Sherbrooke will be in the dark for three minutes, 23 seconds.
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David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, says Quebecers won the lottery in terms of the best viewing conditions for the much-anticipated total solar eclipse.
The eclipse will darken the skies of Montérégie, the Eastern Townships, Centre-du-Québec, the Beauce and the Magdalen Islands.
David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, says the weather forecast in Quebec is the best in all of North America for viewing the event.
“Wall-to-wall sunshine from Montreal to Sherbrooke, Quebec City, even Gaspé … it’s just truly incredible,” he said.
Phillips says the weather is a true anomaly, as there’s only a 20 per cent chance of clear, sunny skies in April.
“Look at the miserable weather last week — rain and snow and wind and people without power — and then later this week, more foul weather, but in between there is this window of just such favourable eclipse weather,” he said.
“Hollywood could not have manufactured better weather than what you are going to see in [the] province.”
Heavy traffic as eclipse watchers pour in
Police and Transports Québec officials have been warning that thousands of people will be converging on communities that lie in the eclipse’s path of totality to get the best view.
The influx in travellers resulted in heavy congestion early Monday afternoon across multiple regions of the province, including in Montreal and Quebec City.
“People have been coming in to Quebec from Ontario, from northeast USA for the last few days and over the next hours, but they’re all going to leave at the same time,” said Transports Québec spokesperson Louis-André Bertrand.
Bertrand says the Transport Ministry has mobilized extra personnel and halted all highway roadwork in key areas.
Meanwhile, Quebec provincial police published a special video pleading with drivers to not pull over on the side of the road and not to wear eclipse glasses while driving.
Alec Cooper drove about an hour from Quebec City to Saint-Georges, Que., in the Beauce region Sunday night to get a front-row seat to the action.
Cooper, an astrophotographer, wasted no time setting up his telescope to capture what will be the third total solar eclipse he has seen.
“You will get hooked on eclipses when you see your first total,” he said Monday afternoon ahead of the event.
While Cooper said he could have driven to Lac-Mégantic in the Eastern Townships, where the eclipse will last about 80 seconds longer than the one in Beauce, he said his spot is still “plenty of time to just have your mind blown.”
Make sure you have the right glasses
Once you make your way to a spot to watch the eclipse, you have to make sure you have the right eye protection to view it.
This is important because staring or even glancing at the sun a few too many times can damage your eyesight permanently.
Every pair of glasses has to be compliant with the ISO 12312-2 standard.
There are several viewing parties planned during the eclipse. In Montreal, free glasses are being handed out at an event in Parc Jean-Drapeau, at McGill University downtown and in front of the Montreal Science Centre.
A total eclipse of the sun happens about every 18 months, but it’s rare to live within the path of totality.
Canadians will have to wait 20 years for the next total eclipse, and that will be mainly visible in the Northwest Territories and Alberta, according to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
In Quebec, it won’t be visible again until 2106, the CSA says.
CBC to offer range of eclipse coverage
CBC Montreal is gathering video of how people are watching the eclipse for a project on this once-in-a-lifetime event we are all experiencing together. We’re looking for video of what you do during those minutes of totality.
You can send it to videoquebec@cbc.ca, or tag us on Tiktok or Insta @cbcmontreal. We will credit all the video we use in our final production and you will be able to see it later in the day.
Reminder, you should not look at the eclipse with the naked eye or try and record it with your unprotected phone.
CBC has live coverage of the eclipse on Monday online, on the radio and television.
McGill physics professor Victoria Kaspi will take your questions on CBC’s Radio Noon starting at 12 p.m. The show will be broadcast live on CBC Radio One, cbc.ca/montreal, on Youtube and the CBC Listen app..
CBC Montreal will be live on our Tiktok page starting at 3 p.m.
Listen to a special edition of CBC Quebec’s afternoon radio program, Breakaway, live from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on CBC Radio One and the CBC Listen app.
Here are more ways to follow the the eclipse live across Canada on CBC.
WATCH | Tips for catching a good view