Solar eclipse | A cosmic Woodstock

The flash came to me as I was leaving the Parc Jean-Drapeau metro station. When I saw these thousands of people converging towards the site where the event was taking place The eclipse of the centuryI rewatched the images that we are constantly shown of the crowds going to Woodstock.

This impression became stronger when, shortly after 3:26 p.m., the signal was heard giving permission to the 100,000 people gathered to remove their glasses. A huge clamor arose. We heard screams, whistles, applause.

And yet, Jimi Hendrix was not on stage. What were we applauding? The victory of the Moon over the Sun? The astonishing effect of the synchronism of two stars? The extreme rarity of a fascinating phenomenon? The answer lies in all of this.

But if people reacted so loudly, it was for a very simple reason. They hadn’t just come to see an eclipse. They could have watched it from their yard or from a sidewalk. They had come to observe him at Jean-Drapeau Park to live this experience with other human beings.

By massing near the Biosphere or in other places in Quebec, tens of thousands of people knew that their emotions would be multiplied by a hundred, because they would experience it with others.

At a time when individualism is taking over in all areas, it was frankly beautiful to see. I took a few of the precious seconds of the total eclipse to observe the crowds watching the sky. I admit that my eyes were full of water.

It’s moments like these that give us hope in humanity. I wasn’t going to deprive myself of it.

We must of course talk about the organization of this historic happening, carried out by the teams from Parc Jean-Drapeau and Espace pour la vie, which overall was on point, apart from the endless lines in front of the food trucks. . Some had to wait for several dozen eclipses to eat a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza.

From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the speakers played electronic music, a bit like Vangelis. People took the opportunity to visit the information stands (very well done) or put their mark on one of the four giant discs which will be given to the Planetarium as a souvenir. Then, DJ Champion moved in to entertain what was arguably the most eclectic crowd I’ve ever seen in my life.

Host Sophie Fouron presented the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne. He was so enthusiastic that I thought for a moment that this was going to change the path of the Sun and Moon and cause us to miss the eclipse.

After the brief appearance of Mayor Valérie Plante, who essentially came on stage to take a selfie with the crowd behind her, astrophysicist Laurie Rousseau-Nepton and astronaut David Saint-Jacques got on. The latter thumbed his nose at technology and explained to spectators the phenomenon of an eclipse using three colored balloons. I love this man!

We were promised the Orchester Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. We got them, but on screen. It was a disappointment. The conductor chose to perform an extract from Tristan and Isolde by Wagner. It was not the best choice for such a heterogeneous audience.

Then, Diane Dufresne appeared to perform Hymn to the beauty of the world in a revised version (it includes extracts fromOxygen) which she created in her last show. The sky began to darken. Before leaving the stage, the singer issued this warning to the audience: “Remember, Earth’s last chance is us. »

It must be said, the experience of the eclipse showed us a phenomenon of great beauty. But it also offered us a downright apocalyptic vision. What if the Sun disappeared? Or, on the contrary, what if he started to burn us? I’m sure these ideas also occurred to you on Monday.

When the total eclipse arrived and I took off my glasses, I was stunned. I expected lots of things, but not this. It’s as if we were discovering a completely unknown star until now. It was neither the Moon nor the Sun, but a sublime fusion of the two.

And this strange brightness that reigned for a few minutes, I still can’t believe it. I was trying to find equivalents. Certain moments at dawn? Or others that precede a storm? Or even others at the end of the day when the sky is uncertain? There was none of that. All my life, I will remember this disturbing lighting which enveloped the crowd.

After the eclipse, people rushed to the entrance to the metro. We were moving at a snail’s pace. Next to me, a little boy said to his mother: “It was the most beautiful sight of my entire life.” » In his little man’s mind, he too saw it as a spectacle. It made me smile.

In my mind as a man on the verge of maturity, there was something else. What I had just experienced was a unique moment snatched from eternity.

The Moon and the Sun, thank you for the excellent show! I would have taken a booster though.