How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely
The Importance of Proper Eyewear
It is crucial to have the proper eyewear if you plan to look up at the sun, especially during a total solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse is one of those magical moments that needs to be seen in order to be fully appreciated. Regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun. Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and ought to comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard. NASA does not approve any particular brand of solar viewers.
How to Use Eclipse Glasses
If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them or hold your handheld viewer in front of them. Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright Sun. After looking at the Sun, turn away and remove your filter. Do not remove it while looking at the Sun.
Other Safe Viewing Methods
If you cannot get your hands on a pair of eclipse glasses, there are other safe ways to view the solar eclipse. One method is to use a pinhole projector. To make a pinhole projector, you will need a piece of cardboard, a sharp object, and a piece of aluminum foil. Poke a small hole in the center of the cardboard. Then, cover the hole with the aluminum foil. Make sure that the hole is completely covered. Now, stand with your back to the sun and hold the cardboard in front of you. You should see a small image of the sun projected onto the ground. Another safe way to view the solar eclipse is to use a solar filter. Solar filters are made of a special material that blocks out harmful ultraviolet radiation. You can attach a solar filter to your telescope or binoculars.
Additional Safety Tips
* Do not look directly at the sun with your naked eye, particularly during a solar eclipse. This can cause solar keratopathy or mild corneal burning photokeratitis. * Eclipse glasses are thousands of times darker than normal sunglasses and specially made to enable wearers to look at the sun during these kinds of celestial events. * The safest way to watch the solar eclipse is with special glasses because it can damage your eyes to look directly at the sun. * To look at the sun during the eclipses partial phase, you either have to find some eclipse glasses or use an indirect method like a pinhole projector more on that below to view the. * Looking at any part of the exposed sun without the right kind of protection can permanently injure the eyes light-sensitive retina. * Keep in mind that ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, or homemade filters are not safe for looking at the sun. There is only one safe way to look directly at the sun, whether during an eclipse or not. These solar filters are used in eclipse glasses or in hand-held solar viewers.
Comments