While standing under a total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most people, retired University of Windsor professor Gordon Drake is preparing to do so for a second time.
"I went to Costa Rica to view the total eclipse in 1992. There were seven minutes of totality, which is close to the theoretical maximum. I got some great pictures of that. It was a wonderful experience," the physics professor emeritus said.
But Drake won't have to travel nearly as far on April 8 this year. That's when a solar eclipse is expected to loom over Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, reaching full totality in the southern portion of these regions around 3:15 p.m.
The English public and Catholic school boards in Windsor-Essex will be sending students home early that day, around 1 p.m.
In a statement to CTV News, officials with Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, the French-language public school in Windsor-Essex, said its students will stay home on April 8 and be given assignments in advance to work on at home.
The English public and Catholic school boards in Chatham-Kent have yet to make a decision of their own, according to emails sent Monday to CTV News.
The decision across all school boards stems from concerns over students, who would likely be on their bus ride home at the time of the eclipse, looking directly at the sun.
Drake, who lives in south Windsor, said he plans on capturing photos of the eclipse using a special camera lens.
"It's a large 300-millimeter lens which enables you to see the disk of the Sun just by pointing a camera at it. Covering the lens is a special solar filter which is so dark that you can't see anything through it normally," he said.
In absence of an expensive camera lens, many people are turning toward eclipse glasses.
Solar eclipse glasses are specialized eyewear designed to protect the eyes from harmful solar radiation during the unique celestial event.
They contain special filters which block out most of the sun's intense light, allowing safe viewing of the eclipse.
Despite the eclipse not happening for another two months, the vice president for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Windsor chapter said demand for eclipse glasses is already surging — leading to inflated pricing in some cases.
"I think I've seen five dollars a pair. That's not out of a lot of people's budgets, but it's way more than what these glasses are really worth," said Steve Pellarin.
Pellarin added he has the good fortune of witnessing "a couple of total solar eclipses in the past." Based on his experience, he expects visitors from outside the region to flock to the southern portion of Essex County on the afternoon of April 8.
His advice? Get there early.
“If people have plans on going down into the southern part of the county, they're going to want to go early in the morning or, perhaps, even go the night before and find a place to stay,” said Pellarin. "It's going to be pretty crazy down there. I think the OPP are actually looking at making plans to try and protect emergency services and provide them with routes in and out of the areas."
As for Drake, he already knows exactly where he'll be taking his camera when the southern portion of Essex County falls under a total solar eclipse.
"I'll be going down myself to some friends who live just on the north shore of Lake Erie," said Drake. "I can't wait to see the solar corona surrounding the Sun, which is normally not visible at all. It's only visible during the period of totality — which is quite spectacular."
