Apr 9 2024 - Here Comes the Sun

 

Didn't it turn out exciting - the clouds were there all morning and just at the right moment, they parted and we could view the total eclipse.  SO a double miracle occurred here in Niagara.  Our own viewing, with the neighbours across the street, included 4 PhD students.  That seems like a distinction of the day. It is time for the post-Eclipse stats: How many people were in Niagara Falls?  The CBC headline says over 200,000.  The CTV video headline says 1 million, but I wouldn't stick with a headline on a video - they aren't as reliable as news articles.  Closer to home the Welland Tribune says "Not a million visitors..." There were plenty, though - there was an express train into Niagara Falls and then special buses to the viewing areas.  The stories said there were lots of people  gathered - in a partying sort of way.   The CBC coverage followed the day as it progressed. The pictures show reasonable numbers along the falls - it is always busy there so I'd expected to not be able to see the sidewalk, but that wasn't the case in the pictures. The mayor says that the projected number of people scared people and they started cancelling rooms and reservations.   "This made headlines around the world and it’s really unfortunate, but you can’t get the toothpaste back in the tube. I get the rationale, but unfortunately we can’t change what happened.” You could even be on one of the boats that tours the Niagara River.  I don't think that's the best view at all.  But they were there to break the Guinness World record for the largest gathering of people dressed as the sun. It succeeded.   And when the total eclipse was receding, one article said that band played "Here Comes the Sun"   This is an Allium blossom.

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News About Nothing

Seeing Nothing was a great experience for millions yesterday. The headlines from yesterday's eclipse were varied.  These come from the UK Telegraph. Total solar eclipse sweeps across the US Donald Trump mocked for looking directly at the Sun Moon trolls sun on Twitter Britons left underwhelmed by partial solar eclipse Nasa Moon, NASA's official Twitter account about Earth's Moon, said: "HA HA HA I've blocked the Sun! Make way for the Moon. £SolarEclipse2017" while Hopkinsville Police in Kentucky, which saw solar enthusiasts descend on the town, tweeted "Please DO NOT call 911 just because your Wi-Fi service is not working." The headlines today include how to tell if there's been retinal damage after watching the solar eclipse.  Today's picture was taken at the new Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines - an art installation at the top of the stairs.

The Solar Day

Solar Day

This was one of the Polar Vortex images from last year.  The temperatures were so low that frost built up in complicated patterns on the conservatory glass.  These pictures were taken at the end of the day when the sun was low over the escarpment and starting to set. 

The image has been processed with a new filter available from Topaz Labs named 'Glow'.  It creates squiggly and electrified lines.  

I hadn't thought of this before - if we lived in the southern hemisphere today will be their summer solstice.  The solstice has a time occurrence - this year 11:03pm UTC when it seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction.  

So this picture celebrates the Solar Day and the return of the sun thereafter.