Solar Eclipse - Bishop's University

Join us on the Bishop’s University Campus

Monday, April 8th, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. on Coulter Field

A total solar eclipse will be visible on the afternoon of April 8, 2024, and the Bishop’s University campus is directly in the path of totality!

Members of the Bishop’s community will gather on Coulter Field to experience this unique event. We invite the surrounding community to a celebration on the day of the eclipse.

Total solar eclipses are a rare once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, when day briefly turns into night as the Moon completely blocks the Sun. This is such a rare occurrence that the next total solar eclipse to be visible in a large city in the province will be in… 2106! Come join us on Bishop’s University campus for our free eclipse-viewing event on that day!

Event Details – Frequently Asked Questions

Join us online!

We will stream from Coulter Field on the day of the eclipse, and will showcase activity on the field, interviews, and telescope shots.

Watch Bishop’s University’s stream here (Youtube)

Want to watch the eclipse as it passes the Earth? Watch with the astronomers of University of Toronto, the Dunlap Institute, and a consortium of universities in the path of eclipse as it transverses the Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic provinces.

Watch the Dunlap Institute’s stream here (YouTube)

WATCH THE ECLIPSE SAFELY

It is always dangerous to look directly at the sun without glasses that can filter out the sun’s rays, but it is especially harmful to look at an eclipse without proper eye protection. During an eclipse, the only time you can look at the Sun directly without proper eye protection is during the brief 3 minutes and 30 seconds minutes of totality.

With what?

Special eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2-compliant solar viewers) have tailor-made filters that screen out 99.9% of harmful sun rays from getting in your eyes.

Bishop’s will be providing glasses for registered guests to our on-campus eclipse viewing event!

For registered guests, we will be distributing these glasses on campus on the day of the eclipse.

For members of the Bishop’s community (including all staff, faculty, and students with a Bishop’s ID card), no registration is needed, and glasses will be distributed during the week of March 25th (see email message).

How?

When viewing the eclipse, do not look directly at the sun. Be sure to put on the glasses while looking away, then, only after they are secured, look at the sun. Look away before taking the glasses off.

If you already have prescription glasses, wear the specialized ones over your own or hold the lenses in front of your own.

During totality (lasting approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds in Sherbrooke), you can take the glasses off safely to view the Sun’s corona. Be sure to put the glasses back on again before totality passes.

Why?

Looking at the sun can lead to your eyes taking in a dangerous amount of ultraviolet radiation, which can painlessly cause damage.

When too much radiation is taken into the eye, it can cause photokeratitis, essentially the equivalent of a sunburn to your eyes.

During the eclipse, the danger is elevated, and looking at an eclipse without protection can decrease your vision irreversibly. Be sure to keep your eclipse glasses on, except during totality!

Our activities

Professor Jean-Louis Heudier – Astronomer

Fantastic Eclipses, From Fear to Reason

Thursday, April 4, 2024

7:30 PM ET – Centennial Theatre

Free event

Jean-Louis Heudier is an internationally respected astronomer and author of Astronomical Photography, Eclipses of the Moon and Sun, Book of the Sky, Book of the Moon, and Astronomy for All.

Ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8, join us for his talk Fantastic Eclipses, From Fear to Reason.

For further information regarding the eclipse-viewing event on the campus of Bishop’s University, please send a message to eclipse@ubishops.ca