I'm interested in the Solar Eclipse August 1 as seen from northern Canada.

I will be in Yellowknife, NWT which is 7 degrees south of Cambridge Bay where the Sun will be on the horizon at Totality at 9:20 a.m. UT.

So from Yellowknife the Sun will be about 7 degrees below the horizon, so there will still be some twilight.

I checked Starry Night and the Moon completely covers the Sun's disc from Yellowknife at Totality also, except the Sun will be 7 degrees below the horizon at that location and moment.

So my question is, at Totality, even from Yellowknife where the Sun is 7 degrees below the horizon, can I expect the sky to go completely dark at Totality?

During Totality when the eclipse is up in the sky, the sky apparently goes completely dark at Totality except along the horizon where there is some illumination. This illumination is caused by sunlight hitting the upper atmosphere at points outside the Track of Totality.

However, in the case of Yellowknife, the Sun is 7 degrees below the horizon, yet if it was above the horizon at that location I would be right in the Totality track.

So from a point on the Earth 7 degrees below where the Moon's shadow touches the ground, what sort of sky illumination effects can I expect in Yellowknife at Totality? Complete darkness? Or still an illuminated sky with no variation in brightness from before Totality through past Totality (disregarding the fact the Sun will be slowly rising)?

Indeed, according to my calculations the Sun would be totally eclipsed from Yellowknife, if an observer had X-ray vision. The time of the theoretical maximum eclipse would be 03:25 MDT with the centers of the Sun and Moon 7.3° beneath the horizon.

I would guess that what is normally twilight time, will be rather dark and would become night-like during theoretical eclipse totality. Perhaps others who have experience or knowledge of such an observation can speak with greater authority than me.

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Curt Renz - "Centaur"
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The shadow cone passes very close to Cambridge Bay and theoretically goes through the Earth and comes out around Yellowknife. I guess.

Because the track of this eclipse starts around Cambridge Bay and is in a polar region, the shadow cone hits the Earth at a very shallow angle (the Sun will be near the horizon at Cambridge Bay), the shadow cone goes through the Earth and comes out at Yellowknife.

So I'm wondering if the sky illumination effects will be similar at Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife (except for the difference in altitude of the Sun).

I understood your question, and answered it to the best of my ability in my previous post.

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Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html