Mississauga Ten Years Away From A Dark Eclipse Monday

Ten years from today, on Monday April 8, 2024, Mississauga will lose most of the Sun in the late afternoon. That is because a total solar eclipse will pass just south of the city over Lake Ontario.

The eclipse path first crosses Mexico and then the south-east USA before crossing into Canada at Lake Erie. The path just misses Mississauga, crossing out into Lake Ontario at Burlington. The eclipse then passes over New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

The path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse as it passes over Lake Ontario. Courtesy eclipse-maps.com

Mississauga will see a 99% eclipse which should be spectacular, but not as impressive as the 100% total eclipse.  Total solar eclipses are the most amazing of nature's spectacles. For a few minutes, the observer stands in the shadow of the Moon. All of the bright sunlight is blocked out and the sky darkens noticeably. The silvery corona - the Sun's outer atmosphere - only as bright as the full moon, appears during the few short minutes of the total eclipse.

Solar eclipse chasers usually have to travel to far points of the world to see total solar eclipses. On average, a total solar eclipse can be seen somewhere every two and a half years. During the past few years, total eclipses were visible in Australia, China and Africa. Total solar eclipses took place in Canada in 1963, 1972 and 1979 - none of these were visible in southern Ontario. The last total solar eclipse visible from Mississauga was on January 24, 1925. Unfortunately the day was cloudy. 

The paths of the 2017 and 2024 solar eclipses courtesy eclipse-maps.com