Protect Eyes When Watching Eclipse

OMAHA (DTN) -- It is rare to have a total solar eclipse, so it's understandable that people will be tempted to look at it whether they are in the zone of seeing eclipse totality or even partial eclipse. The next total eclipse in the lower 48 U.S. states won't be until 2044, and even then, only in Montana, the Dakotas and parts of Canada and Greenland.

But NASA warned how dangerous viewing a solar eclipse can be.

"Except during the brief phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun's bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing," warned NASA on its website about eclipse safety. "Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury."

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) noted that the sun "shines about a half million times brighter than the full moon in visible light and emits potentially harmful ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) radiation, too. Looking directly at the sun through anything that isn't specially made to deal with all that visible light and invisible radiation is a recipe for serious eye injury, perhaps even blindness."

When it comes to when to wear eye protection "during the North American solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, the roughly 115-mile-wide path of totality stretches from Mexico to Texas to Maine to eastern Canada -- and at any location within that path totality lasts at most about 4 1/2 minutes," AAS states. "Before and after totality, and at all times outside the path of totality, you must use a special-purpose safe solar filter when looking directly at the sun."

As for what to avoid, AAS stated, "Ordinary sunglasses (or multiple pairs of sunglasses), neutral density or polarizing filters (such as those made for camera lenses), smoked glass, photographic or X-ray film (unexposed, exposed or developed), 'space blankets,' potato chip bags, DVDs and any other materials you may have heard about for solar viewing are not safe.

NASA also stressed the danger of looking at partial phases of the eclipse. "Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses. Regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the sun." Only solar viewing glasses or safe solar viewers are recommended and noted they are thousands of times darker. At first, people were told to check that viewing glasses comply with ISO 12312-2 international standard for filters, but now NASA encourages people to check the AAS website (https://eclipse.aas.org/…) to ensure they find a safe supplier of glasses since so many counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are being sold.

And even if they are from a reputable source, AAS stressed making sure the glasses or viewers are in good condition.

"If the filters are torn, scratched or punctured, discard them. If the filters are coming loose from their cardboard or plastic frames, discard them," noted AAS.

"Always supervise children using solar viewers," NASA added.

On its website, NASA gave tips to use indirect methods to look at the sun, such as a pinhole projector (like "a hole punched in an index card" that "projects an image of the sun onto a nearby surface") or using a colander to show the shapes of the eclipse on the ground. There are also instructions on how to make an eclipse projector out of a cardboard box.

WELDING HELMETS OFFER PROTECTION

If you have a welding helmet on your farm and you're somewhere along the path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, you might want to step outside and catch a glimpse of what is happening.

Just as the helmet protects your eyes when you're welding, it can also protect your vision if you look at the eclipse. However, the AAS warned to be extra careful.

"The only ones that are safe for direct viewing of the sun with your eyes are those of shade 12 or higher. These are much darker than the filters used for most kinds of welding. If you have an old welder's helmet around the house and are thinking of using it to view the sun, make sure you know the filter's shade number. If it's less than 12 (and it probably is), don't even think about using it to look at the sun," according to the AAS website.

"Many people find the sun too bright even in a shade 12 filter, and some find the sun too dim in a shade 15 filter -- shade 13 and 14 filters are the best ones for solar viewing. But welding filters generally give a sickly green image of the sun, whereas special-purpose solar viewers give a white, yellow or orange image, which is much more pleasing and natural. If you really want to get a welding filter, we recommend you buy it from a welding supply company; we've heard reports of people ordering 'shade 14' welding goggles from random online stores and receiving much lighter filters than they were promised.

"In some cases, these homemade filters may seem like they dim the sun to a comfortable level, but that doesn't mean they do so across the whole electromagnetic spectrum to which our eyes are sensitive. While you're enjoying a 'comfortable' view of the 'dim' sun, solar infrared radiation could be cooking your retinas. And you wouldn't know until later because your retinas don't have pain receptors. Only after the eclipse, when you notice blind spots or other vision problems, will you realize you'd made a catastrophic mistake," wrote AAS.

TAKING PICTURES OF ECLIPSE

NASA noted that cameras, binoculars and telescopes use different types of filters to be safely used while watching an eclipse.

"Note that solar filters must be attached to the front of any telescope, binoculars, camera lens or other optics," stated NASA.

For information on how to take pictures of the eclipse, the site www.space.com gave tips on how to do it with a smartphone and included suggestions such as switching off the flash before totality, not zooming in on the eclipse, not using a super-wide or portrait angle, locking the focus during totality, using burst mode during totality, shooting the totality in raw, not shooting in handheld video, and shooting video with a tripod. See the complete instructions at https://www.space.com/….

For those using cameras, see a YouTube video on taking pictures of the eclipse by photographers Gabriel Biderman and Matt Hill from National Parks at Night. They provide instructions at https://www.youtube.com/…. They also include other hints on the best way to prepare for the event, including what to bring.

B&H also has instructions on how to take photos manually with your camera, composition tips and even a table on what exposure settings to have on your camera during different times of the eclipse so you can adjust your aperture and shutter speed. See https://www.bhphotovideo.com/….

To find out when and where the eclipse will be in your area, go to the following and type in your location: https://science.nasa.gov/….

For more on eclipse safety and building your own indirect viewer methods, see https://science.nasa.gov/….

To see DTN's story on the latest weather forecast for the day of the eclipse, see https://www.dtnpf.com/….

To see the DTN story on preparing for extra traffic and trespassers in rural areas, and tips to protect your property, see https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Elaine Shein can be reached at elaine.shein@dtn.com.

Follow her on social platform X @elaineshein.

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.