Some photos from yesterday’s solar eclipse in Toronto

Yesterday was Toronto’s first solar eclipse of the Instagram era, so naturally lots of people spent the afternoon pointing their smartphones heavenward, trying to catch snaps of the moon photobombing the sun. Here are some of the best pics we found:

Nathan Phillips Square’s sunbaked concrete expanse turned out to be a perfect eclipse-viewing platform:

Watching the #2017solareclipse at lunch at #Toronto City Hall through my $5 pinhole projector; big crowds out there! #EclipseDay #eclipse pic.twitter.com/euORp0JZd8

— Matt Hunter (@AdHocActivist) August 21, 2017

TD Centre was another popular downtown gathering spot:

Viewing the solar eclipse – TD Centre, Toronto, ON . . . #solareclipse #eclipse2017 #TDCentre #TDCentreToronto #TorontoEclipse #streetphotocargo #candid #documentaryphotography #streettogs #street_focus_on #streetbwcolour #streetbwcolor #SPiCollective #storyofthestreet #streetphotographyincolours #streetphotographyincolors #streetcandid #street_photography #streetphoto #streetphotography #streetphoto #ourstreets #challengerstreets #fromstreetswithlove #wearethestreet #everybodystreet #thisaintartschool #lensculturestreets #life_is_street #Torontostreetphotography #streetphotographyToronto

A post shared by Daniel Turner (@10th_degree_dan) on Aug 21, 2017 at 4:43pm PDT

This is a cool thing to do with a pinhole eclipse viewer:

Beautiful partial #eclipse in Toronto. The sun is shining! Well, 75% of it was!! pic.twitter.com/C1rfyNuKWD

— Chris McKillop (@atscmc) August 21, 2017

The effect of the eclipse was powerful enough that it was visible in the shadows of trees:

#Eclipse shadows on the sidewalk. #eclipse2017 #torontoeclipse #2017eclipse #solareclipse #solareclipse2017 #partialsolareclipse

A post shared by Tilley (@preshusme) on Aug 21, 2017 at 5:07pm PDT

Some people got a little artistic with it:

Should have taken the drone up there..but these clouds made for a cool shot! #eclipse #eclipse2017 #torontoeclipse #toronto #science #eclipsetoronto #moodygrams

A post shared by Chirag Mehta (@chiragkm) on Aug 21, 2017 at 12:10pm PDT

It’s surprising how well smartphone cameras fared with the task of photographing a celestial body:

Solar Eclipse #citygarden #solareclipse #eclipse #eclipse2017 #excited#toronto #eclipsetoronto

A post shared by joanna (@joannashankstaman) on Aug 21, 2017 at 12:23pm PDT

This man is now blind, probably:

We made our own eclipse contraption. @brianrichardrenton #dork #torontoeclipse #wesocool #diy

A post shared by Evangeline Molly (@evangelinemolly) on Aug 21, 2017 at 6:05pm PDT

But of course you can see a solar eclipse in Toronto any time you want:

wow full eclipse here in toronto pic.twitter.com/CyZa208mCq

— Seb FoxAllen (@purpledocket) August 21, 2017