Evan Zucker has been on a cross-continent journey from San Diego, chasing clear skies ahead of Monday’s total solar eclipse.
While he originally planned on watching in Texas, a cloudy forecast had him and his wife, Paula, packing up their Kia SUV with their cameras and telescopes and starting the long drive to Sherbrooke, Que., 130 kilometres east of Montreal.
Eclipse chasing, he said, is “all about the weather.”
In order to maximize his chances, the 68-year-old made cancellable reservations a year ago in half a dozen cities that fall along the eclipse’s path, including Dallas; Little Rock, Ark.; and Rochester, N.Y.
While he may still change his mind, he expects Quebec’s Eastern Townships to be his final destination, and he believes other eclipse-watchers will follow. As the forecast in the southwestern United States has darkened, he said the best weather is increasingly looking like it will be in the northeast, including parts of Quebec and New Brunswick.
Lysandre Michaud-Verreault, a spokeswoman for the regional tourism office, said the Eastern Townships are ready for an influx, with more than 40 viewing parties and events planned. She said the region is special because it offers stargazing potential that goes beyond the eclipse.
“It’s exceedingly rare for such a unique astronomical phenomenon to take place here, where the heart of the eclipse is positioned above two dark sky preserves and above the ASTROlab,” Michaud-Verreault said, referring to an observatory and astronomy museum near Lac-Megantic, Que. “It’s really something for the Eastern Townships.”
As they make their way toward Quebec, Zucker and his wife have been dealing with “really bad weather” on the road, including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding. “It’s been a real challenge,” he said. But it will be worth it if he can reach clear skies to watch his 10th total eclipse.
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Zucker said he’s been fascinated by the celestial phenomenon since he was a teenager in New York, when at 14 years old he convinced some of his teachers to drive him to Virginia for his first total eclipse on March 7, 1970.
“It’s just very visceral,” said Zucker, who spoke to The Canadian Press as he travelled north from Ohio. “The sun basically disappears, replaced by a big black disc of the moon and the white curly atmosphere of the corona around it.
Canadian cities from Niagara Falls, Ont., to Gander, N.L., are preparing to welcome visitors hoping to spend a few minutes plunged into darkness during the rare alignment of the sun, Earth and moon.
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Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador all have areas along the path of totality — where the moon will be seen fully blocking out the sun. Airbnb reports that Niagara Region and Montreal are the two most booked Canadian destinations ahead of April 8.
The flagship event in the Eastern Townships will take place in and around the ASTROlab, where scientists and presenters will guide activities, and an outdoor stage will be set up to broadcast the eclipse’s progress on a giant screen.
Many towns will host their own smaller events, with amateur astronomers on hand to give explanations, as well as food, crafts and free eclipse glasses to protect eyesight.
A history museum in Magog, Que., is offering an old-fashioned eclipse day, complete with actors in period costumes and the chance to build a pinhole eclipse box and safely observe the celestial phenomenon through it. Hampden, Que., is having a viewing event featuring free eclipse-themed food, including “solar” juice, “meteorite” cotton candy and “total eclipse” pizza.
The region has several ski hills, and most of them are hosting guided hikes or chairlift rides for viewing parties on the summit, Michaud-Verreault said.
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Outside of the Eastern Townships, Montreal is expected to host several large viewing events, including one at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on an island in the St. Lawrence River, that will be attended by Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
Zucker says he likely won’t be at a major event. While he likes to watch with others and will bring hundreds of eclipse glasses to hand out, he travels with 11 still and video cameras and three telescopes, which require a lot of room.
He says he’s hoping to find a spot with a good view of not only the eclipse itself but also the different horizons, so he can photograph the moon’s shadow coming in from the southwest and departing to the northeast.
While he had originally dubbed this month’s event the “great American eclipse,” his northern trip has him calling it the “Great North American eclipse” instead. A solar eclipse in 2017 was only in the U.S., he said. “This one is in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.”
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
