By now, you may already know that the U.S. will soon have the chance to see a stunning total solar eclipse. You may also already know if you are — or aren’t — in the path of totality.
Those in the totality path will have a chance to see the sun totally obscured in the middle of the day on April 8 as the moon passes perfectly between us and the sun. However, only those within the path of totality — which stretches about 115 miles across and will move from Texas and into the Northeast — will be able to see the sun blocked out.
If you don’t live within the path of totality, you still have a chance to see the moon partially block out the sun.
This may bring you to another question — if you are outside the path of totality, do you actually need to wear those special eclipse glasses everyone is talking about? You’re not in the golden region of the solar eclipse, so does it matter?
The short answer is yes, if you’re outside the path of totality, you’re going to want to wear eye protection before observing the eclipse. In fact, only those shrouded in the path of totality can go without eclipse glasses (but not the entire time).
Let’s explain.
We know the moon is going to block out the sun on April 8 during our first total solar eclipse since 2017. Those within a certain area will see the sun totally blocked, while for those outside that path, the sun will look like a sliver.
The eclipse itself will last several minutes. Experts have warned that everyone viewing the solar eclipse should wear proper eye protection before looking skyward. For those in the path of totality, the eye protection can come off for the two to four minutes when the moon completely blocks out the sun. But, as soon as the smallest sliver of the sun reappears, the eye protection needs to go back on.
Why do you need eye protection?
You’ve likely been warned before not to stare at the sun because it can damage your eyes. The damage caused by looking at an eclipse without eye protection has earned its own name: eclipse blindness, or solar retinopathy.
Dr. Andrew Neighbors, a Seattle-based optometrist, told Nexstar’s KXAN that this damage can heal over time, but it’s also possible it becomes permanent, as there is little that can be done to repair it.
“If you’ve ever seen a car headlight or something like that, it’s really bright, and then afterwards, you can kind of see the car headlight. It would be like that. It just wouldn’t go away,” Neighbors explained.
NASA says that viewing the sun during the eclipse without the proper protection “will instantly cause severe eye injury.”
“Anywhere that the retina was exposed to that level of energy, it can burn it permanently and hurt your rods and cones, which can give you bad central vision, distorted vision, and it can affect your color vision as well,” optometrist Dr. James Forde told Nexstar’s WSYR.
How can you safely watch the solar eclipse?
There’s really only one “do” for watching the solar eclipse, and lots of don’ts. The most important must-do is to watch through solar eclipse glasses. These are specially designed spectacles that are thousands — yes, thousands — of times darker than regular sunglasses, according to NASA.
Eclipse glasses have an ISO (a metric of sensitivity to light) of 12312-2, and real ones will be marked with that number. “If glasses are not stamped with that, they’re not approved for watching the eclipse,” Benner says. “And even if they are, you still want to make sure that they are from a reputable source.”
Scammers often sell fake glasses in the lead-up to eclipses, which can lead to permanent eye damage. The best way to be sure you’re getting the real thing is to buy them from the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) list of solar viewers and filters. If your glasses are the real deal, they will be very dark. Benner says that if you can put them on in your home and see a light that’s on, they’re not approved solar eclipse glasses.
“You don’t want to look up and say, ‘Where is it?’ then put the glasses on,” Benner says.
Other don’ts: Don’t use regular sunglasses, double sunglasses, welding glasses, binoculars or telescopes to look at the eclipse. You also don’t get protection from a camera or a smartphone camera. If you want to photograph the eclipse, you’ll still need to wear eclipse glasses and fit your lens with a special filter, also available from the AAS list. You can buy or make solar optical projectors, including pinhole cameras, but be sure you follow instructions from the AAS.
How to tell if your eclipse glasses are safe
Before you purchase glasses, make sure to look for reputable vendors and a few key markers on glasses that prove it’s safe to view the eclipse. The American Astronomical Society has a list of vendors that meet international safety standards.
American Paper Optics has manufacturer directions and information printed on the glasses to make it easier to spot a fake.
“American made, proper marking with the ISO certification which means we’ve had them lab tested the filters have been tested the construction of the glasses have been tested,” Jerit said about the glasses. “Our glasses have a silvery outside and a black inside — that’s another way to tell you’ve got our glasses.”
they should have interviewed an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist who knows a lot less about eyes. It’s not safe to look even with the sunglasses because you don’t know if the sunglasses you bought are authentic or fraudulent.
It needs a much more severe warning than what the optometrist said. Don’t look at the eclipse, look at your Torah books inside. They’re much more interesting