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Keep Safety in Mind during Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse, Safety, Eyes, Vision

The solar eclipse will take place on Monday, Aug. 21 between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. throughout the United States with maximum solar coverage happening at 3 p.m. in Boca Raton.

By gisele galoustian | 8/18/2017

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe the first solar eclipse in more than 40 years. Experts at Florida Atlantic University caution safety first to ensure that the experience is a pleasant one.

The solar eclipse will take place on Monday, Aug. 21 between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. throughout the United States with maximum solar coverage happening at 3 p.m. in Boca Raton. This is the first total solar eclipse in the U.S. since 1979 and the first solar eclipse to cross the U.S. from coast to coast in 99 years.

“Make sure not to look directly at the sun during the solar eclipse without the use of appropriate and approved protection,” said Marc Kantorow, Ph.D., a leading eye disease researcher, a geneticist, and a professor in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. “Sunrays damage retinal photoreceptor cells. During a solar eclipse, sunrays could easily damage photoreceptors in your retina that could cause you to lose your vision permanently.”

Eric Vandernoot, astronomy and physics laboratory coordinator at FAU, also provides important tips and explains the great American solar eclipse in this video.

NASA also offers important safety tips to view the 2017 Solar Eclipse:

  • Do not look directly at the sun.
  • Use solar filters or eclipse glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard. Only these provide the safest way to look directly at a total or partial solar eclipse.
  • Do not use solar glasses that are older than three years, have scratched lenses or don’t include the manufacturer’s name and address.
  • Do not use ordinary sunglasses or any homemade filters.
  • Do not look at an eclipse through any unfiltered telescope, camera viewfinder, binoculars or other optical device even with a solar filter. These items magnify sunrays and can damage the retina.
  • Always make sure to supervise children.
  • Consider a pinhole camera if you don’t have proper glasses. It’s easy to do with just a few household items. A NASA website has simple instructions for building the camera. (https://go.nasa.gov/2qjJnnc).
  • Watch FAU’s informational and safety video

-FAU-

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