500 pairs of glasses were handed out to staff and students hoping to catch a glimpse of this rare celestial site.

Kelvin Au, a PHD student in Astrophysics at University of Manitoba remarked on the significance of the day “It’s quite rare. I mean, the next total one’s going to be in 2044, that we’re going to be seeing in North America,” said Au. 

The well timed photo at the top of this post was taken by Physics and Astronomy Senior Scholar Werner Ens.

Media came to campus to join in the excitement, here are some of the place we were mentioned:

Here is the story from the Winnipeg Free Press

Here is the story from CityNews Winnipeg

Here is the story from CTV Winnipeg

For those in the ‘path of totality’ the sun’s rays will be completely blocked.

Manitoba falls outside of this path meaning residents will only see a partial eclipse – which is when the moon blocks part of the sun, creating a lighter shadow known as a penumbra.

Despite it being a partial one, Kelvin Au, a PHD student in Astrophysics at University of Manitoba, said it’s still something to be appreciated.

“It’s quite rare. I mean, the next total one’s going to be in 2044, that we’re going to be seeing in North America,” said Au. “So as far as the partial one goes, I would say it’s decently rare, and it’s something worth checking out.”

To read the full story, please visit CTV Winnipeg.