Saskatchewan residents looked to the skies. Some saw mostly clouds

Crowds of people across Saskatchewan were outside on Monday hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle that made news across the continent.

Depending on where you were in the province, how much of the solar eclipse you got to see varied – but the excitement was evident everywhere.

When Loretta Iris heard her birthday coincided with the solar eclipse, she wanted to mark the day in a special way.

“I thought it’d be fun to celebrate my birthday with other people,” Iris told CTV News.

In Saskatoon, the clouds hampered her ability to see the eclipse, but that didn’t stop her unique celebration.

“It’s exciting. It’s happening around the world. I love these things where they’re global events where we can stop and pause and be together,” she said.

In Regina, the clear skies meant optimal viewing of the partial eclipse.

(GarethDillistone/CTVNews)

“We’ll see the moon move in front of the sun and cover about 41 per cent of it in Regina and Saskatoon 45 per cent,” said Kevin Fenwick, with the Royal Astronomical Association of Canada.

In some parts of North America, like in Mexico, it was a total eclipse, meaning brief darkness. In our province, there was still enough sunshine that it didn’t seem darker.

“If you’ve got proper eye protection and you look at it through those glasses, it will look like Pac man took a chunk out of the sun as the moon moves in front of the sun,” Fenwick said.

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Saskatoon eclipse watchers weren’t deterred by the clouds, judging by those gathered at the University of Saskatchewan observatory.

“The weather is your enemy sometimes and you just get used to it but we still have people asking questions and answering questions and hopefully getting some interest stirred up in astronomy and astronomical events,” said Brent Burlingham, president of the Royal Astronomical Association of Canada in Saskatoon.

Stacey Neudorf said it was a great way to teach her daughter about the universe.

“I think it’s a great learning experience for everyone and I’m excited to show her the telescope, and show her more about the universe,” she said.

Outside the Saskatoon observatory around 1:30 p.m., there was a glimmer of hope when the clouds broke up a bit.

All eyes turned skyward to get a glimpse of the eclipse through the clouds.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make the wait worth it.