On Monday 8 April, a total solar eclipse of the sun will take place across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. During this eclipse, the moon will pass directly between the sun and Earth, which will block out the sun’s rays and make the sky dark in the middle of the day. However, if you want to view this astronomical event, proper precautions need to be taken.
An eclipse goes through phases in which a person can view the moon slowly moving in front of the sun. This is called a partial phase. During these phases, Nasa recommends wearing protective eyewear, which must specifically meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
If glasses are not your thing, you can also look at the eclipse using a telescope, camera lens, or binoculars, but they must have the proper filter over the top to avoid causing any eye damage. 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 can instantly cause severe eye injury, according to Nasa. Looking at an eclipse without eye protection can cause “eclipse blindness” also known as solar retinopathy.
This means the light from the sun can burn the back layer of the eye, known as your retina, which converts light into electrical signals. Those signals are sent by the optic nerve to the brain to create the image a person sees. Mild symptoms of solar retinopathy can include watery eyes, eye soreness, headaches and light sensitivity but mo.