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NUNAVUT - Murray Paulson has seen three total solar eclipses and he's addicted.

"It is so rare and it is fabulously beautiful," he said, adding eclipses allow viewers to see the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere.

"It's a ghostly blue light and you can see all the fine structure in it," he said. "There is something majestic and awe inspiring about it. It's really incredible."

Paulson, an amateur astronomer in St. Albert, Alta., will be one of hundreds of skygazers making the trip north to Nunavut to witness the first total eclipse of the sun over Canada since 1979.

Chris Ferris, director of product development with First Air, said there are hundreds of people flying up on the airline to view the event.

He said a lot of the trips are booked in conjunction with Arctic cruises.

"It's mostly tied to cruise ships because there isn't enough accommodation in Cambridge Bay or Resolute," said Ferris.

He said they are seeing the same numbers of tourists as previous years, but many have centred their tour packages around the eclipse.

"It's really concentrated around Aug. 1," said Ferris.

Vicki Aitaok, manager of Cambridge Bay's Arctic Coast Visitor Centre, said the community will be busy during the eclipse.

"Both hotels are booked and I've actually put a call out for billets," said Aitaok.

Cambridge Bay is planning educational events to coincide with the eclipse.

The visitor centre will be a drop-off and pick-up point for the Aug. 1 event.

Car pools will be heading out at 2 a.m. to Mount Pelly, about 14 km outside of Cambridge Bay, and just 12 km from the western boundary of the total eclipse zone.

Mount Pelly viewers will be able to see a 99.5 per cent eclipse of the rising sun, said Aitaok.

Aitaok said visitors from as far away as Hungary and Finland will be making their way to the community.

Resolute is also expecting an influx of skygazers.

Aziz Kheraj, co-owner of the 35-room South Camp Inn, said the hotel will be full during the days leading up to and following the eclipse.

"We have several bookings and people have block-booked several rooms," said Kheraj.

Not every community is reporting a tourism rush for the eclipse.

Grise Fiord will be in the path of the total eclipse of the sun.

Ray Richer, manager of the Grise Fiord Lodge, said he was expecting a little more hoopla about the event.

"I thought there was going to be a lot of hype about it, but there hasn't been much really," said Richer.

He has had a few inquiries from potential customers, but very few bookings.

"We've got one guy that booked in about a year ago," he said, adding a construction crew has booked up the rest of the rooms.

He said the cost of flying to the community was probably deterring some viewers.

"It's quite an expense for someone to come up here and observe for a couple of minutes," said Richer.

That will not be stopping Paulson, though.

From Cambridge Bay, he will be taking a one-hour bush plane flight to a lake on Victoria Island, which falls within the 100 per cent, or totality, zone.

Paulson has travelled to view eclipses in Aruba, Zimbabwe and Turkey and is excited to make his first trip to Nunavut.

"This is a really cool chance to go somewhere I've never been before and see the countryside and the people," he said. "The icing on the cake will be this eclipse. You can imagine it all you want, but until you get underneath, you have no idea. It is so awe-inspiring. I don't think there is anybody who it doesn't leave moved."