THUNDER BAY — If the sky is clear when the moon moves between the sun and the earth early Thursday morning, residents of the Thunder Bay district will have one of the best vantage points to take in the phenomenon.
However, the current forecast for the area includes overcast skies and possible showers, which means it will just be a lot darker than normal when most of the sun is blocked by the moon.
Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder says the chance that local residents can witness the eclipse at sunrise "unfortunately is not looking too good."
Flisfeder said a low pressure system is expected to move into Northwestern Ontario overnight Wednesday, providing cloud cover around the same time the sun comes up.
Thursday's event will be an "annular" solar eclipse, when most of the sun is covered by the moon.
The outer edge of the sun will remain visible, making it seems as if there's a ring of fire in the sky.
Brendon Roy, a director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, said Thunder Bay would ordinarily be one of the best places in North America to witness the eclipse.
"Having an astronomical event seems to be one sure way to get clouds," Roy lamented in an interview with TBNewswatch.
He was en route Wednesday to Nakina, where there's potential to see the eclipse in its entirety because of its more northerly location.
Roy said he hopes the weather forecast turns out to be wrong, and that even if it's partially cloudy it will still be worth the trip.
Several other local members of the astronomical society plan to gather for the eclipse at daybreak at the Terry Fox Lookout.
"This is for all the early birds," Roy said, noting that the sunrise in Thunder Bay will occur about 5:55 a.m. Thursday.
He said the eclipse will already be in progress before the sun comes up, so what anyone would see initially –in the absence of cloud cover – is a crescent sun.
Over the next 45 minutes, they would see it "sort of fill out as the moon moves away from the face of the sun."
Roy cautioned that proper eye protection is essential for viewing any eclipse, no matter what time it occurs, and that regular sunglasses are inadequate.
"We really do recommend getting a proper solar filter, or those solar viewers," he said, noting that people would make a mistake thinking that because an eclipse happens early in the morning, it's less risky.
"It can still do a lot of damage to your eye, and that's permanent damage."
According to the Canadian Space Agency, "during any solar eclipse, it is imperative to wear special glasses with filters designed for eclipse watching (ISO 12312-2 international standard) to prevent eye damage. Regular sunglasses will not protect your eyes sufficiently."
An alternative to special glasses is to construct an eclipse projector using a cardboard box, which permits the user to observe the event indirectly.
