During next week's solar eclipse, Torontonians 'might not even notice anything's happening,' professor says

Torontonians eager to catch a glimpse of the upcoming total solar eclipse would be wise to hit the road and head out of town next Monday.

Torontonians eager to catch a glimpse of the upcoming total solar eclipse would be wise to hit the road and head out of town next Monday.

While the moon will cover up 99.9 per cent of the sun in parts of Toronto on April 8, the city is not in the path of totality like other municipalities outside the GTA.

“This is a very important difference for solar eclipses,” said Elaina Hyde, the director of the Allan I Carswell Observatory at York University and a professor with the school’s Natural Sciences department.

“If you are in totality, you're in the area where the sky will get dark. This is the very spectacular show. You get the big temperature shift. Animal behavior can change.”

She said in other areas, a partial eclipse will be visible but spectators will miss out on many exciting aspects of the celestial event.

“You're not going to see the sky go dark. You're not going to see the sun get blacked out. You're not going to see the corona,” Hyde said.

“If you're just standing around outside, you might not even notice anything's happening.”