Newmarket resident Alex Siciak spent time preparing for the April 8 solar eclipse, scouting potential shooting locations for a captivating photograph downtown.
Like many others, he went outside to watch the rare celestial event, visiting Riverwalk Commons to view it.
But the weather proved a hindrance as clouds obscured the eclipse for much of its duration.
“I hate it,” he said of the cloudy weather. “I still think there’s a slim chance to get something. It’s still better than nothing.”
Newmarket residents came out to the downtown core to try to view the eclipse with glasses April 8, joined by many throughout the region and province. The eclipse was viewable at times through the clouds, and still darkened the world at peak. But the clouds limited visibility.
Siciak said he thought it would be a perfect opportunity for photography.
“You only see one of two eclipses in a lifetime,” he said. “Might as well just take advantage of that.”
Eclipses happen around the world yearly but have large gaps when they occur in the same place. The next solar eclipse in Canada is projected in 2044 in western Canada.
Local Kelly Summerfeldt planned to go to Niagara Falls to see the eclipse but decided against travelling that far due to the cloudy weather.
“We weren’t sure how good it was going to be,” she said, but added that “it’s amazing that we can witness it.”
Daniel Grunberger and Khiersytn Ross came to Riverwalk Commons to see the eclipse together.
“We had a pretty quiet day, it felt like a decent day to go viewing,” he said, adding the clouds were disappointing. “But you know, what can you do? We’re catching small glimpses in between the clouds.”
“It’s just nice to be a part of something like this,” Ross added.
Dylan Hidalgo also came along with his family to get a glimpse of the celestial event.
“Never seen one before, so I just felt like I just wanted to go out and see it,” he said.
Despite the weather, Tim Van Halteren said it is still a special event.
“It’s a rare event. It happens so infrequent, and just amazing to see it.”
