{"id":209,"date":"2024-04-08T21:33:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T01:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/?p=209"},"modified":"2024-04-08T22:20:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T02:20:42","slug":"a-cosmic-coincidence-the-upcoming-solar-eclipse-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/2024\/04\/08\/a-cosmic-coincidence-the-upcoming-solar-eclipse-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u201cCosmic Coincidence\u201d: the Upcoming Solar Eclipse, Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s happening on Monday? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/types\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">the moon will block the light of the sun and temporarily darken the sky<\/mark><\/a><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-black-color\">, <\/mark>causing what\u2019s known as a solar eclipse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/alexadihomework.github.io\/\" title=\"Embedded Website\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>Interactive illustration by Alexa DiFrancesco<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is no special science behind solar eclipses, according to Nikhil Arora, an astrophysicist at Queen\u2019s University.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSolar eclipses are cosmic coincidences,\u201d Arora said, that happen whenever the sun, moon and the Earth line up. \u201cIt just so happens that we have a moon that is big enough, and just far enough away from us that it can completely cover up the sun for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Solar eclipses happen across the Earth twice a year, according to Sarah Gallagher, a physics and astronomy professor at Western University.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, \u201cif you\u2019re talking about a specific location on Earth, they\u2019re much less frequent,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monday\u2019s eclipse is receiving more attention as it falls over land areas where many people live, Gallagher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An almost total eclipse of the heart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In Toronto, <a href=\"https:\/\/rascto.ca\/events\/solar-eclipse-april-8-2024\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">the eclipse will begin at 2.05 p.m., and reach maximum coverage at about 3.20 p.m.<\/mark><\/a>, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Torontonians can expect a partial solar eclipse, as 99 per cent of the sun will be covered, said Hanno Rein, an astrophysics professor at University of Toronto Scarborough.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As one per cent of the sunlight will slip through, the sky won\u2019t go completely dark in Toronto.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The effect will still be dramatic, however, according to Rein. \u201cYou can\u2019t really avoid this event\u2026 you will notice that it suddenly gets very dark during the middle of the day.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How and where do I watch the solar eclipse?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1Zgdgn2v2-U5dLj84ONnRP4MFOWHbh4A&#038;ehbc=2E312F\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>Monday\u2019s event has prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/opto.ca\/eye-health-library\/solar-eclipse-safety\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">doctors to warn the public against looking at the eclipse without protection<\/mark><\/a>, as that can cause permanent eye damage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Toronto City Council is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.toronto.ca\/community-people\/health-wellness-care\/health-programs-advice\/solar-eclipse-safety\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">advising the public to use safety glasses specifically made for eclipse viewing<\/mark>.<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It does not matter where you watch the eclipse, as long as you can see the sky, said Gallagher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn Toronto, there\u2019s lots of tall buildings, so you have to make sure you\u2019re somewhere where you have a clear view of where the sun is,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wildlife enthusiasts may also be interested to check out how animals are behaving during the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some animals behave differently once solar eclipses begin, according to Arora. \u201cIf you see bees, as soon as totality hits, these will drop to the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cThey think it\u2019s time for bed\u2026 If you have chickens or roosters around, they\u2019ll start to prepare for the world\u2019s shortest nap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A rare appearance of a solar eclipse is ramping up excitement among scientists and Toronto residents.  But what, exactly, is happening on Monday? Here\u2019s what you need to know about the spectacular event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":853,"featured_media":212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,9],"tags":[77,78,76,33],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-toronto","tag-astronomy","tag-skywatching","tag-solar-eclipse","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/853"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jn8201w2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}