Calgarians gathered to watch the solar eclipse. Here's what they had to say.
As the moon obstructed a portion of the sun on Monday afternoon, Calgarians across the city, their eyes shrouded by protective glasses, looked to the sky.
Weather conditions for the solar eclipse turned out to be bluebird — clear and sunny.
And for a couple of hours, people took a break from their usual Monday schedules to gather together, pause, and take in the spectacle above them.
At the Telus Spark Science Centre, at least one young viewer was moved by what he saw.
"It's science, it's real science," said Nabil Khadem, who is five (and a half, he was sure to mention).
"I'm going to NASA to build rockets, so I'm first looking at some science."
People gathered outside the Telus Spark Science Centre to take in the solar eclipse in Calgary. (Helen Pike/CBC)
Others were taking in their first solar eclipse a bit later in life.
"[One] reason why we think this is fabulous is because we've never done this before and we won't be around for the next one because we're just too old, we're in our 70s," said Helen Bugno, who was there with her husband, Don Dibenedetto.
Dibenedetto said he was happy to see such a huge turnout of people at the event, estimated to be in the hundreds, and said the parking lot was so full he had parked a half a mile away.
Zack Anderson, director of science connections at Telus Spark, said the crowds were indicative of how many people are passionate about science.
Anderson said that while solar eclipses occur between two and five times a year, they often happen over places where there aren't high concentrations of people.
"It's a really special day … folks pulled their kids out of school to come and check it out and, you know, see science in real life, not just on a screen, which is pretty darn cool."
Justin Scott is one of those people. He let his son Calder, 8, step out of school to see the eclipse.
"I think it's a very cool experience. We love science, we love astronomy, the opportunity for me to share this experience with my kids … it's a lot of fun."
Nabil Khadem got to look through solar telescopes to get a magnified view of the partial eclipse. (Helen Pike/CBC)
For others, the day was business as usual.
Ariella Muriel-Pagart retired from her career in welding to homeschool her children.
"This is a school day for us, this is an event that we planned specifically," said Muriel-Pagart.
She came armed with her old welding helmets, including child-sized ones, which offer the same protection from the sun's rays as eclipse glasses do. She said lots of people approached her asking to try out the helmets.
"Which is super cool," said Muriel-Pagart. "I just like to see the excitement of people being interested and learning about the world around them, because we need more of that."
Over at the University of Calgary campus, more people joined in the festivities at a free drop-in eclipse viewing event put on by the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory.
Marcus Gee, an electrical engineering student, said he wanted to remember the day.
"It's a cool thing to see.… It's the first time in a while where we have a community event where a lot of people get to show up and enjoy the weather, enjoy the cool science occurrences."
Matt Taylor, assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Calgary, said he was excited to see the crowds taking it all in.
"This is a great turnout, it really just shows that when you're given a chance to see science in action, people really want to experience that and see that for themselves," said Taylor.
"It's one of the most accessible sciences, all you have to do is look up and you can experience astronomy."
Crowds found patches of grass to sit and watch the solar eclipse at the University of Calgary campus. (Mike Symington/CBC)
Astronomer and regular CBC contributor Don Hladiuk travelled to the path of totality south of the border. He took in the full blackout of the sun in Junction, Texas, about 200 kilometres west of San Antonio.
He said the weather in the morning had started out clear but that some clouds had gathered by the time of the full eclipse.
"So we had a, let's say, a partial success. But we certainly saw the corona, the atmosphere of the sun, the brilliant red prominences — just not as long as we would have liked."
Still, he said the day would be memorable, especially given the fact that his now son-in-law-to-be proposed to his daughter, who came to the Texas town alongside him and his wife.
"There's something called the diamond ring at the end of totality," said Hladiuk. "Well, guess what? Christopher presented to our daughter after the eclipse was over a diamond ring. So it was a very special day today for our family."
He said solar eclipses have an enduring way of bringing people together, and inspiring young and old alike.
"It's just something about looking up at the sky and something we can relate to. I always like to tell people we're all made of star stuff."
Back at Telus Spark, Helen Bugno said it would be more than just the eclipse that she would remember from the day.
"[It's] the sunshine, the spirit of the people here, the science … the sense of community."
