Chris Hadfield is best known as an astronaut, but despite his adventures outside the Earth’s lower atmosphere, he’d never seen a full solar eclipse until Monday.
“When I was a kid growing up on the farm, we had a partial eclipse and I was more excited than anyone in the family,” Hadfield told CTV News Atlantic. “I got a piece of paper and I punched some holes in it and with the sun coming down through the paper, I could watch that partial eclipse happen.
“Never in all that time since then have the stars aligned for me so I could see an eclipse until today.”
Hadfield visited Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., on Monday to see the path of totality of the solar eclipse. He was one of thousands of people across the Maritimes who observed the celestial event, which won’t repeat in the region until 2079.
The total solar eclipse over Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., on April 8, 2024. (Nick Moore/CTV)Thousands of people flocked to Fredericton, N.B., situated in the path of totality, to cap off Eclipsefest in the city. The Garrison District was packed with onlookers and vendors providing information on the once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Traffic was heavy in many parts of Prince Edward Island as thousands of observers moved around to catch a good view of the eclipse.
Solar eclipse totality over Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., on April 8, 2024. (Nick Moore/CTV) Most of Nova Scotia may have been outside the full path of totality, but that didn’t stop residents from seeing the moon partially obscure the sun. In Halifax, people filled the field at Saint Mary’s University to witness the eclipse, enjoying an extra-special view thanks to high-powered telescopes from the astronomy department.
Participants use a telescope to view the solar eclipse at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. (Source: Paul Hollingsworth/CTV News Atlantic)Meat Cove, in the northern tip of Cape Breton, was the one spot in Nova Scotia that landed in the path of totality, which attracted several eclipse-watchers Monday afternoon.
Hadfield said the eclipse provides an opportunity to reflect on humanity’s place in the universe and our shared experiences and achievements.
“It’s one of those rare days where literally millions of people stop and look at up,” he said. “We spend a lot of time looking at our shoes and getting wrapped up in human misbehaviour; meanwhile there’s an amazing infinite nature of stuff around us. Today’s a day that’s very unifying.
“We’re at an amazing moment in history.”
Check out a full photo gallery of the eclipse here.
-With files from Avery MacRae, Jack Morse, Nick Moore, and Paul Hollingsworth
