Portage la Prairie was left out of the viewing of the partial solar eclipse which hit its peak at 12:57 p.m. due to cloud coverage. Potential observers hoped the cloud cover would pass before the eclipse was completely over.

Solar scope"The partial eclipse that's happening here is about 71.6% which means there will be that much coverage of the moon over the sun," says astronomy buff Ken Metcalfe who was at Big Brothers Big Sisters in Portage for the event. "It made what I call the Pac-man effect. As it moves across it's going to graze across the surface of the sun. It will get slightly dimmer here."

He notes he brought his solar scope with him and was able to check out the solar storms moving across the sun when the sun became visible, unfortunately after the eclipse was over. Metcalfe adds several people came out and enjoyed some activities as well as formed some good friendships over the day.

Scope used with projection to safely view eclipseThe next solar eclipse is scheduled to hit North America in 2024, with a partial one around 2021.

Eclipses happen somewhere on earth every 18 to 20 months. Metcalfe adds it's a fun event and is rare, and we're able to think about where we are in our solar system.

Checking out the information provided by Metcalfe

Ken Metcalfe