'Once-in-a-lifetime event': Next major eclipse in Toronto won't happen for another 120 years

A GTA professor says the upcoming major eclipse is quite literally a “once-in a lifetime event” as the last time it happened in the Toronto region was 1925 and the next one is expected to be in 2144.

A GTA professor says the upcoming major eclipse is quite literally a “once-in a lifetime event” as the last time it happened in the Toronto region was 1925 and the next one is expected to be in 2144.

“It’s an once-in-a-lifetime event,” Robert Cockcroft, McMaster University astronomy and physics professor told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. “It’s when you get the perfect alignment between the moon and the sun, and it’s just a coincidence they appear on the same side of the sky.”

“The sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, but it’s also 400 times further away from the earth so they appear the same size so that allows periodically for the moon to cover the sun.”

A total eclipse in and of itself is not an especially rare occurrence, Cockcroft noted. In fact, it happens once every 18 months or so in various parts of the world, he said.

“If you are willing to travel to an eclipse, it's not that rare of an event. You can get to see one every one or two years,” he said. “But for the eclipse to come to you is what makes it rare. That's what makes it an once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

In Ontario, a total eclipse happened in 1979, but it could only be seen in the northern parts of the province. Paul Delaney, astronomer and professor at York University, chased the eclipse to Brandon, Manitoba, where it was also visible.

“I have seen three total solar eclipses and that was my second one,” he told CTV News Toronto. “It was by far the coldest. It was February and it was chilly on the roof of Brandon University, but the skies were clear. My master’s thesis was based on my observation of the sun that day.”