A young Windsor, Ont., solar system enthusiast doubts anyone is more excited than he is for next week’s eclipse.
Ashton Mantha, 11, eagerly awaits the solar event and has convinced his parents to drive him to nearby Leamington to view it.
The southwestern town, along the shores of Lake Erie, will have some of the best eclipse-viewing conditions in the region and will experience one to two minutes of totality, in which the moon blocks all light from the sun.
Mantha spoke with CBC Radio’s Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge about his love for space and his eclipse plans. Here is part of their conversation.
When did you first become interested in the solar system?
I was one time just laying in my room, and my dad walked in and he asked “Have you ever thought about space?” And then it really just kicked it off.
I thought about how, like, humans went to the moon and all this stuff. It’s awesome.
Ashton Mantha is eagerly awaiting the eclipse on April 8, which he plans to view from Leamington. (Amy Dodge/CBC)
That reminds me of my father. We were laying in the backyard on the ground looking at the stars, and he said the same thing, “Have you ever thought about life beyond us and something bigger and greater?” Was that something like the conversation you had?
It basically started with us talking about NASA and the moon and all this stuff. And it’s just amazing, honestly, to see and think about how infinite space is, because there’s never just a wall. It has to be beyond the wall. There’s always something.
Did you have favourite solar system books when you were younger?
I did, yes. I have one, I believe, about the moon and the dark side of the moon. It’s … about moon rocks and how some of them have crashed on Earth. I actually found a meteor once.
No way! Where did you find a meteor?
We were walking by the train station … and on the rocks there, we just found one. There’s metal on it, so we knew it was a meteor.
I’m looking most forward to those two minutes in the totality where it’s just completely black. It’s like nighttime … with no moon or sun.– Ashton Mantha, young solar enthusiast
Have you experienced a sky phenomenon before this eclipse?
I did see a partial eclipse. It was 2017, I believe. I was at my mom’s house, and she was like, “Hey, there’s an eclipse happening later if you want to go see it.”
So we went outside, we put our glasses on, and that was just one of the best moments ever, seeing some of the sun just gone. Especially as a young kid … it has an impression on you.
LISTEN | Young solar system enthusiast’s excitement soars as eclipse draws near:
Windsor Morning7:42Young solar system enthusiast’s excitement soars as eclipse draws near
A young solar system enthusiast is negotiating with his parents to see the solar eclipse in Leamington next Monday. Has he successfully swayed them to take a day off work and drive out to the county? 11-year-old Ashton Mantha joined Windsor Morning Host Amy Dodge in the studio.
What kind of impression, what were you thinking at that time?
I was thinking, is the sun being eaten? And then [it was explained that] the moon just goes in front of the sun, and I was like, that’s pretty cool.
And it’s going to happen again. How are you going to go see it?
We’re going to be driving to Leamington after school. I have my eclipse glasses, and we’re going to be ready to go.
What are you looking most forward to?
I’m looking most forward to those two minutes in the totality where it’s just completely black and you’re safe to take off your glasses. All the cicadas and all the birds just stop tweeting, so it’s like nighttime, basically, just with no moon or sun.
WATCH | How to safely watch the solar eclipse in Windsor-Essex:
How to safely watch the total solar eclipse in Windsor-Essex
29 days ago
Duration 1:26
Tom Sobocan, public relations director for the Royal Astronomical Society’s Windsor group, explains where and how to watch the eclipse on April 8.
How much research are you doing on this eclipse?
I’ve read three articles so far. [Watched] two videos. It’s just I’ve been doing all the research I can.
By the way, if you want to go see the full total eclipse, the best shot you got is in Leamington. But if you really are dedicated and you don’t want to see clouds, apparently you’re supposed to go to Mexico.
Is that in your budget?
No, I think I’m just going to go to Leamington. That sounds a bit easier than flying to Mexico.
Is your family as excited as you are?
Well, that’s going to be a hard battle to face because I’m really excited about this. My dad is excited. A lot of people are excited. It’s just, I don’t know if they can out-excite me.
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.
