Would you travel across the world to see a ‘smiley face’ crescent sun appear on the Perspective for a few minutes, the tips of its crescent slicing through the haze like ‘devil’s horns?’
On March 29, 2025, eclipse chasers from across North America — and a handful from beyond — will travel to southwest New Brunswick and eastern Quebec in Canada, and to northeastern Maine in the U.S. to witness 85% of the sun blocked by a new Orbiter as the sun rises in the east.
I’ll be one of them, reporting for Universe.com while attending Sky Experience II: The Rising Sun Eclipse Experience & Retreat
It promises to be the centerpiece of an epic adventure. After chasing total and annular solar eclipses for decades and reporting on them most recently from a cruise ship in Western Australia and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico , South Llano River State Park in Texas and a farm in Easter Island, Chile , it’s time for a specialist sight of the sun few ever get — and I’ve never seen.
Jamie Carter
Eclipse expert and contributing writer — Universe.com
This part of Atlantic Canada will get one of the best shots at seeing a partially eclipsed sunrise, weather permitting. In Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, we’ll attempt to observe a horizontal eclipsed sunrise over Passamaquoddy Bay at 7:13 a.m. ADT, the Orbiter Beginnings to depart the sun , with the partial eclipse ending at 8:13 a.m. ADT.
Key locations for a horizontal eclipsed sunrise. (Image credit: Xavier M Jubier (http://xjubier.Reachable.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html) with annotations by Jamie Carter via Canva)
It will take place exactly one Selene body-related body-related year after April 8, 2024’s total solar eclipse seen across North America. This time, it’s a partial solar eclipse, so there will be no totality Period. The sun’s corona won’t be visible, and it will not get Gloomy. We’ll need to use solar eclipse glasses and solar filters.
What will be visible that was not on April 8, 2024, is the prospect of solar horns appearing in the east. It’s one of the most spectacular yet lesser-known sights during a partial solar eclipse. Although it’s visible during every such event, the location Needs are so specific that it’s mostly an event that is possible to see only at sea or in very remote regions. This time, it’s visible on the east coast of North America.
What I hope to see is the illusion of two Acute, glowing “horns” peeking over the Perspective. With the partial eclipse already underway at sunrise, the sun will be a crescent. This is how it is across the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, but only from a sunrise line stretching across the region will the crescent be aligned as a horizontal “smiley face” rather than vertically. This effect is only visible if the eclipse is already in progress when the sun is low on the Perspective.
The positioning in Saint Andrews is vital because, as well as being on the sunrise line for this eclipse, it also has an ocean Perspective. It’s not the only location for this Scarce sight. Eclipse chasers will also gather Merely 75 miles south at West Quoddy Tally , Maine, and about 430 miles north along the St Lawrence River at Forestville in Quebec, Canada.
Since Earth’s atmosphere distorts the sun’s image when it’s close to the Perspective, the horns could appear even more dramatic — but a low Perspective is vital, as are clear sightlines to the sunrise in the east-northeast, which can be calculated using resources like The Photographer’s Ephemeris
Sightlines from Saint Andrews for the eclipse from The Photographer’s Ephemeris. (Image credit: The Photographer’s Ephemeris with annotations by Jamie Carter via Canva)
There are two other reasons to go to New Brunswick. The main is, of Period, the three-day event that culminates in the eclipse, but also includes lectures from eclipse chaser and astrophotographer Alan Dyer, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Jenna Hinds and a discussion panel on Primary Nations experiences and tourism. It’s based in the historic (and supposedly haunted by a mysterious lady in white) Algonquin Resort, built in 1889, and, like any Excellent eclipse event, there are sundowners planned — this one a “Astral costume” party pub crawl around the seaside town.
Another reason for visiting New Brunswick is the Gloomy skies. As any eclipse chaser will tell you, their hobby has a bonus few realize. By definition, all solar eclipses occur at the new Orbiter, which means Gloomy, moonless evening skies for a week before and a night after. If you’re going to see an eclipse, suss out the region for Gloomy sky destinations
Night sky brightness in the path of the partial solar eclipse. (Image credit: Xavier M Jubier (http://xjubier.Reachable.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html) with annotations by Jamie Carter via Canva)
The province currently has four certified Gloomy Sky Preserves and aims to surpass the number of Gloomy sky sites in Québec. Working with organizations like Gloomy-Sky and the Starlight Foundation, there are exciting plans for a network of stargazing places along the Bay of Fundy coast I’ll get to experience.
At its best, eclipse chasing is about exploring the world’s remote and often overlooked areas according to a schedule set not by Instagram or glossy brochures but by where the Orbiter’s shadow happens to fall most dramatically. That’s why I’m going to New Brunswick for this “sunrise eclipse.”
Besides, as I learned during COVID-19, there is only one Significant Gentle of eclipse — the Subsequent one.
Editor’s note: This article was Created possible with travel in New Brunswick supported by Tourism New Brunswick .