Queen's University providing 120,000 solar eclipse glasses to residents in Kingston, Ont.
Eclipse fever is taking over southeastern Ontario.
On April 8, a total solar eclipse will pass over a number of cities along the seaway, including Kingston, Ont. On Monday, the city started handing out free solar eclipse glasses to residents.
Queen's University partnered with The Kingston Frontenac Public Library, distributing the glasses at each branch.
"We started thinking about this in 2021,” said Nikhil Arora, an astrophysicist at Queen's and a member of the university's eclipse task force. "Just the initial planning of what we can do in the city, how we should get the enthusiasm and the education and the information out there about this eclipse.”
The glasses are required to view the eclipse safely. If they aren't worn properly, permanent damage can be done to the retinas.
"The importance during the eclipse is actually just before totality and just after there are still those damaging UV light rays,” explained Dr. Yi Ning Strube, a pediatric ophthalmologist with the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
The library at Calvin Park had already given away nearly 2,000 pairs before mid-afternoon Monday, a sure sign the city is looking forward to April 8.
A sign indicating where to pick up Solar Eclipse Glasses at the Calvin Park Branch Public Library in Kingston, Ont. March 25, 2024. (Jack Richardson/CTV News Ottawa).
Last week, the city issued an alert saying it is expecting nearly half a million people to come to Kingston for the event, as larger cities like Toronto and Ottawa won't see a total eclipse.
CTV News Ottawa will have special live coverage of Monday's solar eclipse.
Watch CTVNewsOttawa.ca from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 8. You can also tune in to Newstalk 580 CFRA for continuing coverage.
CTV News will have coverage from Kingston, Brockville, Ottawa and the Niagara Region.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Mayday!': New details emerge after Boeing plane makes emergency landing at Mirabel airport
New details suggest that there were communication issues between the pilots of a charter flight and the control tower at Montreal's Mirabel airport when a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
Cucumbers sold in Ontario, other provinces recalled over possible salmonella contamination
A U.S. company is recalling cucumbers sold in Ontario and other Canadian provinces due to possible salmonella contamination.
Latest updates: Tracking RSV, influenza, COVID-19 in Canada
As the country heads into the worst time of year for respiratory infections, the Canadian respiratory virus surveillance report tracks how prevalent certain viruses are each week and how the trends are changing week to week.
Weekend weather: Parts of Canada could see up to 50 centimetres of snow, wind chills of -40
Winter is less than a month away, but parts of Canada are already projected to see winter-like weather.
W5 Investigates A 'ticking time bomb': Inside Syria's toughest prison holding accused high-ranking ISIS members
In the last of a three-part investigation, W5's Avery Haines was given rare access to a Syrian prison, where thousands of accused high-ranking ISIS members are being held.
Federal government posts $13B deficit in first half of the fiscal year
The Finance Department says the federal deficit was $13 billion between April and September.
Armed men in speedboats make off with women and children when a migrants' dinghy deflates off Libya
Armed men in two speedboats took off with women and children after a rubber dinghy carrying some 112 migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea started deflating off Libya's coast, a humanitarian aid group said Friday.
Nick Cannon says he's seeking help for narcissistic personality disorder
Nick Cannon has spoken out about his recent diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder, saying 'I need help.'
LGBTQ2S+ Africans look to Canada for help as anti-gay laws expand
Countries that already have laws barring gay sex are increasingly making it a criminal offence to even identify as a gender and sexual minority. The Canadian Press investigates how these trends are playing out in countries where Canada has strong ties.