Published October 10, 2023 at 4:35 p.m.
The western and southern regions of the province will witness a rare event this weekend: a solar eclipse.
Annular solar eclipse
On Saturday, October 14, at approximately 1:15 p.m., part of the Sun will be obscured by the Moon over Quebec. This solar eclipse will be annular in parts of North America. This happens when the moon is far from Earth. The sun will therefore not be completely obscured and we will be able to see a ring of light around the moon. A total solar eclipse can occur when the moon is at its closest point to Earth. Then it can completely block the sun for a few minutes. It is a spectacular event when it is almost dark for a few moments in the middle of the day.
A 200 km wide strip
The band of the annular solar eclipse will stretch from northern Oregon to southern Texas and be 125 miles wide. Large parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas will see a perfect ring around the moon’s opposite shadow. Note that the Four Corners region (area at the intersection of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico) will be part of this volume.
The less spoiled one
In Quebec, Témiscamingue will be the most spoiled sector, while at 2:18 p.m. more than 22% of the sun will be covered by the moon. In the east, the solar eclipse will be barely noticeable. In Gaspé, for example, just over 6% of the sun will be covered by the moon. For those in the east of the province, be patient as a very rare total solar eclipse will be visible in Quebec on April 8, 2024.