A rather dramatic name for something measured by scientific instruments, “the path of totality” refers to the path of the Moon’s shadow where the totality — the “maximum phase of a total solar eclipse, during which the Moon’s disk completely covers the Sun’s bright face” — can be visible from Earth (definition from the American Astrological Society). On April 8, 2024, here in Montréal, the eclipse will begin at 2:14 pm and the totality will occur between 3:26 and 3:28 pm.
If you live in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico, you’ve likely heard for months about next week’s total solar eclipse. Where to see it. How to view it safely. The viewing parties (these are in Québec, for example). And that many schools are closed for the day to prevent kids from staring up at the sky and permanently damaging their eyes.
Or you may have heard that, although a total solar eclipse may be visible from somewhere on Earth twice every three years, it’s only visible from a specific location, on average, about every 360 years. A total solar eclipse was last in Montréal on August 31, 1932 and after April 8th, the next one will be in 2205. So, I will be putting on the solar eclipse glasses and looking up at the sky on Monday afternoon, yes.
Moving from solar eclipse factoids to flashback:
On August 31, 1932, the total solar eclipse was on the front page of The Globe (which would later become The Globe and Mail) but the newspaper’s top headline that day was on German politics (Hitler would become chancellor of Germany six months later). Among the 16 pages of the newspaper, there were brief sections on “The Voice of the People” and “What Women Are Doing” as well as considerably longer sections for the “Financial” pages and the “Sporting” pages (there are comments that I could make about that, but I’ll refrain). The classified ads included positions for teachers, nurses, barbers and hairdressers, a butter-maker, a drug clerk, a “personal Christmas card agent” and “experienced advertising men; must be of a happy and cheerful disposition” (again, I’ll leave my comments aside, interpret as you wish).
And Rome?
How did Rome make its way into the title of today’s blog post? The photo above was the most suitable one I could find in my personal archives for a blog post about a total solar eclipse. I took the photo from inside the Pantheon when in Rome with a dear friend in 2013 (the version above uses a silvertone filter).
Before I go, a reminder, if you find yourself in the path of totality on Monday (or any other day, for that matter), do protect yourself (here is that link on solar eclipse safety from NASA, once again).
a few words ... from Montréal 