By Ian Holmes

Eclipse draws huge interest in Nanaimo

Aug 21, 2017 | 1:12 PM

NANAIMO — The partial solar eclipse drew huge crowds to Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park.

The Nanaimo Astronomy Society (NAS) hosted a large viewing event Monday morning, which included a long line of people waiting to catch the spectacle thorugh a high-powered telescope. Outreach director Fraser Lee said they brought about 400 eclipse glasses which didn’t last long.

“It was quite a crowd when I got here a little after 8 a.m.,” Lee told NanaimoNewsNOW. “I started handing them out at about 8:30 and they were gone (in five minutes).”

About 3,000 people piled into the waterfront park for the rare phenomenon. The NAS telescope was in high demand, as a long line stretched nearly to Comox Rd.

Lee said the partial eclipse has led to much more attention for their group, which he expects will increase their current membership base of 65 people.

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“We’ll probably pick up a few new members, talking to people today there were at least a dozen people asking when our meetings are…There is interest in our Facebook page.”

Cathy Hunchak and her son waited to take advantage of the NAS telescope. “Most of the moon was blocking the sun, but a thin sliver [was] quite bright,” she said.

Several NAS members, including president Chris Boar, travelled to Bend, Oregon to view the eclipse from the path of totallity where the sun was completely blocked out for nearly three minutes.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes