Times and tips for Monday's eclipse across the Maritimes

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Make way for a memorable Monday as a solar eclipse arrives across the Maritimes.

Parts of the region will experience total daytime darkness for up to three minutes and 20 seconds, as the moon aligns perfectly between the sun and Earth.

The eclipse’s path of totality includes central New Brunswick, the western tip of Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton’s Meat Cove area in Nova Scotia.

Other parts of the Maritimes will experience a partial solar eclipse.

Do not look directly at the eclipse’s partial phase at any time without wearing certified safety eyeglasses.

Portions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, as well the United States and Mexico, will also experience Monday’s total solar eclipse.

After Monday, the next total solar eclipse in the Maritimes will occur on May 1, 2079.

The following are eclipse times for select Maritime communities, within and outside the path of totality:

Path of totality eclipse times across the Maritimes

Hartland, N.B.

Florenceville-Bristol, N.B.

Doaktown, N.B.

Woodstock, N.B.

Tignish Corner, P.E.I.

Miramichi, N.B.

Alberton, P.E.I.

Perth-Andover, N.B.

Bouctouche, N.B.

Plaster Rock, N.B.

Chipman, N.B.

Fredericton

Tracadie-Sheila, N.B.

Meat Cove, N.S.

Grand Falls, N.B.

Summerside, P.E.I.

Maximum partial eclipse times across Maritime cities outside of totality

Moncton, N.B.

Edmundston, N.B.

Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Saint John, N.B.

Sydney, N.S.

Halifax, N.S.

Where to watch the eclipse

New Brunswick

A list of free New Brunswick eclipse viewing events, along with pick up locations for certified safety eyeglasses (if still available) can be found here.

Free public eclipse viewing events will happen Monday afternoon in several New Brunswick communities, including: Florenceville-Bristol, Fredericton, Hartland, Miramichi, Perth-Andover, Plaster Rock, Woodstock, Arcadia, and Moncton.

A solar telescope balloon will launch from Florenceville-Bristol at the beginning of the eclipse to capture images of the spectacle high above New Brunswick. Live images from the telescope will stream live to local viewing events, as well as online.

P.E.I.

Monday’s total solar eclipse will be visible through most of Prince County in western P.E.I., as well as northern parts of Queen’s County, including:

The North Cape Coastal Drive social media page lists a number of gathering spots in western P.E.I., including:

The city of Charlottetown says the inside lane of the Victoria Park Roadway, from Terry Fox Drive to Victoria Park Driveway, will be closed to traffic from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the eclipse.

The city says the partial road closure will be in place to “allow the public to safely observe the solar eclipse from the park.”

Cape Breton

The Lawless Lobster Seafood Trailer will be open for everyone travelling to the northern tip of Cape Breton for the eclipse.

“We will be serving hotdogs, grilled cheese, bottled water, soft drinks, potato chips and of course our famous seafood chowder. We will also have some Meat Cove merchandise available,” reads a post on the trailer’s Facebook page.

The Meat Cove Community Centre will be hosting a Sweets and Tea Eclipse Social from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. The event is $10 for adults and $5 for kids

Destination Cape Breton also recommends people visit the Skyline Trail, Inverness Beach, the Highland Village in Iona and Chéticamp to watch the eclipse.

Weather continues to be ideal for eclipse viewing

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell says it is so far so good for weather in the Maritimes and viewing the solar eclipse.

Just some patchy, broken mid-level cloud is moving through at a decent clip. Mitchell says it shouldn’t be enough to fully obstruct viewing in any part of the Maritimes Monday afternoon.

Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., conditions are expected to be mainly clear for New Brunswick, and a few, or patchy, clouds are expected for both Nova Scotia and P.E.I.

Traffic and communications

New Brunswick public schools within the eclipse’s path of totality will be dismissed early from afternoon classes on Monday.

Drivers should prepare for detours and delays within the path of totality, with an influx of people expected.

Several restrictions for vehicles will be in effect around three Woodstock public viewing areas on Monday. A shuttle service in Florenceville-Bristol will run between two public viewing events on each side of the Saint John River, with crews directing traffic on the Florenceville Bridge (which is down to one lane due to ongoing construction). The world’s longest covered bridge in Hartland will be closed to vehicles from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organized has advised drivers to fuel up before venturing out, with the potential for long waits.

A focus within the path of totality will also be placed on communications, with an expectation for high network demand. Bell Aliant says routine maintenance will be paused on Monday afternoon to optimize data and voice services in areas where large numbers of people are expected. Bell Aliant (a division of Bell, which owns CTV Atlantic) says usage levels will be monitored closely throughout the eclipse event.

CTVNewsAtlantic.ca will provide live coverage of the eclipse as it travels across the Maritimes on Monday.

A special edition of CTV News at Six with Todd Battis will broadcast live Monday from Miramichi, featuring extensive eclipse coverage from across the region.