Gazing at eclipse without protection is ‘a significant risk,’ local expert says

The dangers of looking at the sun without proper protection have not been exaggerated, said Misty Kearney, ophthalmic technician and patient education coordinator at West Georgia Eye Care Center.

“It is dangerous, and it is a significant risk,” she said.

The risk of damage is the same as if you were to look directly at the sun on a normal day. People don’t often do that, so they’re usually fine. But today, the eclipse will make looking at the sun both less painful and more tempting. That’s a dangerous combination that Kearney said could result in permanent damage.

“Everybody is drawn to look at it during the eclipse, and it’s comfortable to look at. But that light from the periphery is still there. About three minutes of exposure can result in permanent, lifelong damage. Under that, it will still cause problems and damage. No direct gazing of the sun is safe or recommended.”

The damage is called solar retinopathy, and ophthalmologists most often see it when people do “sun-gazing” dares.

“It is not treatable, so you could see a doctor for treatment, but they would advise you that this is a permanent problem with the retinal tissue that you would have for the rest of your life,” Kearney said.

She stressed that sunglasses are not the same as approved solar glasses, and that they are not suitable for watching the eclipse.

“You can have the most expensive Ray Bans and they still will not protect you from direct exposure to the sun,” Kearney said. “Our sunglasses protect us from UV rays and some damaging rays, but our sunglasses cannot protect us from all of them, because otherwise we wouldn’t have enough light to see.”

The solar glasses, approved with the ISO (International Standards Organization) reference number 12312-2 printed somewhere on their frame, filter out all harmful rays, allowing you to look directly at the eclipse.

“You’re still going to be able to see the eclipse. It’s amazing, once you put them on there’s no question of how different they are from sunglasses. It truly does filter all the light needed for it be safe for direct observation.”

If you don’t have any glasses, you can create a cheap pinhole viewer out of paper or cardboard. Several area organizations are holding events that include crafting these viewers.

You can also take a picture of the eclipse or view it through your phone’s camera feed, but the jury is out on how much damage that might do to your lens. One photography store in Iowa simulated a shot of the eclipse, and their camera’s electronics began to melt after about six seconds of exposure. If you have a solar filter for your camera, you can use that to photograph and view the eclipse safely.

There are also live streams that will broadcast the eclipse all along the path of totality, when the sun is nearly completely covered by the moon.

Other than that, you might just need to ask a friend if you can share their pair of glasses.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Gazing at eclipse without protection is ‘a significant risk,’ local expert says."