'I canāt wait to see it': 91³Ō¹Ļ expert helps Ontario prepare for next year's total solar eclipse
Staff at the 91³Ō¹Ļ are playing a critical role in preparing for the total solar eclipse slated to occur in Central and Eastern Canada on April 8, 2024.
The Ontario Eclipse Task Force, chaired by Ilana MacDonald at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, is working to provide Ontarians with detailed information about eclipse events and safe viewing practices for this rare celestial occurrence.
āThe physical experience of watching the sun being totally covered is apparently life-changing,ā says MacDonald, Dunlapās outreach co-ordinator who earned her astrophysics PhD from 91³Ō¹Ļās Faculty of Arts & Science in 2013.
āIāve seen videos of people screaming with excitement when they see a total eclipse. Iām hoping to experience that level of joy this time around.ā
If the skies are clear, MacDonald will fulfil that dream next spring during what could be the most viewed total solar eclipse in Canadian history. The path of totality soars over major urban centres, tiny towns and empty fields across Ontario ā and it wonāt happen again in the province until 2099.
The task forceās primary goal is education around safe viewing. Itās a major concern next spring because kids will be just getting out of school when the eclipse begins. In one solution, Dunlap teamed up with and the to distribute thousands of eclipse viewers to classrooms across Canada.
āAstronomy outreach is one of Dunlapās main pillars of purpose, and public education is embedded in the instituteās DNA,ā says MacDonald, who as a student won a Fieldus Award for Excellence in Leadership and Research from the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics.
āOutreach has always been important to the Dunlap family and thatās a major reason why theyāve been such prolific donors and champions for 91³Ō¹Ļ.ā
Other considerations for the 2024 eclipse include community safety and travel. Thousands of people will flock to the best eclipse viewing areas that day, so donāt be surprised if thereās a traffic jam on Highway 401.
āI could try renting a boat,ā says MacDonald. āMaybe Iāll just sail four kilometres south from the Toronto waterfront ā that would be a nice view of everything.ā
Growing up in rural Quebec, MacDonald was inspired by her fatherās amateur stargazing. From the first time she gazed upon Saturnās rings through the lens of his telescope, she knew the path she wanted to follow.
While earning her PhD, MacDonald studied ripples in spacetime triggered by two black holes about to crash into each other ā otherwise known as gravitational waves. Her research was based on theories prior to the first detection of a gravitational wave in 2015.
She has a tattoo of that wave reading ā like a wild cosmic heartbeat ā proudly displayed on her right arm, paying tribute to the interstellar discovery.
MacDonald canāt say if next yearās eclipse will elicit a similar sentimental response.
āThe sky gets very dark, and all the stars are revealed,ā she says. āThe birds go quiet because they think itās nighttime. The temperature suddenly falls, and you can see the sunās gases radiating from its horizons. Apparently, total eclipses are a whole other ballgame, and I canāt wait to see it.ā