Keeping Your Eyes Safe During a Solar Eclipse

Always use glasses clearly labeled with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard, which ensures they block 99.999% of harmful UV and infrared rays and reduce visible sunlight to safe levels thousands of times dimmer than what regular sunglasses provide. Before each use, hold your glasses up to a bright indoor light and inspect them carefully for any scratches, punctures, tears, or separated layers. Even tiny defects can allow dangerous amounts of light through, so discard damaged glasses immediately and never use them.

An indirect way to safely view the eclipse is by projecting an image using a simple pinhole device, which keeps your eyes completely away from direct sunlight. This method is ideal for families with young children and provides a clear, safe view of the eclipse's progress.

• Use a piece of sturdy cardboard or thick paper and make a small, round hole about the size of a pencil tip.
• Stand with your back to the sun, holding the cardboard so sunlight passes through the hole.
• Position a second piece of white cardboard, paper, or a light-colored surface about two to three feet behind the first one.
• Watch the crescent-shaped image of the sun projected onto the second surface, adjusting the distance to make the image larger or smaller.
• Never look back through the pinhole at the sun itself.

If you want to view the eclipse through telescopes, binoculars, or cameras, you must attach certified solar filters specifically designed for these devices to the front of the lens before pointing them at the sun. Never look through any optical device at the sun without the appropriate solar filter properly secured in place, as telescopes and binoculars concentrate and intensify solar rays enough to cause instant and severe eye injury, even if you are wearing eclipse glasses.

Some common items people mistakenly believe are safe for eclipse viewing provide little to no protection and can lead to serious eye damage. Never use any of these items to view an eclipse:

• Regular sunglasses of any darkness level, including polarized or UV-blocking varieties
• Smoked glass or darkened glass of any kind
• Exposed camera film, developed photographic negatives, or X-ray film
• Compact discs (CDs) or DVDs
• Tinted plastic sheets, colored cellophane, or reflective emergency blankets
• Stacked or layered combinations of any unsafe materials
• Telescopes, binoculars, cameras, or smartphones without certified solar filters

No. Regular sunglasses, even very dark ones or those labeled as blocking 100% of UV rays, do not block the intense visible light, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation present during an eclipse. They reduce brightness by only a small fraction compared to the reduction needed for safe solar viewing. Only eclipse glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 standard provide adequate protection, blocking more than 99.999% of the sun's light and allowing only a tiny, safe fraction to reach your eyes.

Yes, but only if you attach a certified solar filter designed for cameras to the lens before pointing it at the sun. Without proper filtration, the concentrated solar rays passing through your camera lens can damage the internal sensor and potentially injure your eyes if you look through an optical viewfinder. The intense light can also make your photos overexposed and washed out. If you choose to photograph the eclipse, remember to keep your eclipse glasses on when not looking through your properly filtered camera.

It is safe to remove your eclipse glasses and look directly at the sun only during the brief phase of totality, when the moon completely covers the sun's bright disk and you can see only the faint solar corona surrounding the dark moon. However, totality lasts only for a minute or two in most locations and does not occur at all if you are outside the narrow path of totality. Put your eclipse glasses back on immediately the instant you see any bright point of sunlight, called the diamond ring effect, which signals that totality is ending and the sun's surface is beginning to reappear.

If you notice blurred or distorted vision, blank spots or dark areas in your central vision, eye pain, unusual sensitivity to light, or seeing colors differently after viewing an eclipse, these may be signs of solar retinopathy. Contact our office promptly for an evaluation. Our ophthalmologists can perform a comprehensive dilated eye exam to assess your retina for damage. While most cases of solar retinopathy improve on their own over several months, early diagnosis helps us monitor your condition and provide appropriate guidance for protecting your remaining vision.

First, check that the product displays the ISO 12312-2 certification mark printed directly on the glasses or filter. Second, verify that you purchased them from a reputable source listed by the American Astronomical Society or another trusted astronomy organization. To test them, put them on indoors and look at bright lights. You should see almost nothing, or only very dim light. If you can see ordinary household items, lamps, or your surroundings clearly, the glasses are not safe. When wearing proper eclipse glasses, only extremely bright light sources like the sun should be visible, and even the sun should appear comfortably dim.

Welding glass rated shade 12, 13, or 14 meets the safety requirements for eclipse viewing and can be used if you cannot obtain eclipse glasses. However, most hardware stores stock only shade 3 to 8 welding filters, which are far too light for safe solar viewing. Homemade filters such as exposed camera film, stacked sunglasses, smoked glass, CDs, or tinted plastics do not meet safety standards, may allow dangerous amounts of infrared or ultraviolet light through even if they appear dark, and should never be used. The safest choice is always certified eclipse glasses from a reputable vendor.

Yes, people of all ages and those with existing eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy can safely watch an eclipse as long as they use proper ISO-certified eclipse glasses and follow all safety guidelines. However, extra care and supervision are essential for young children to ensure they keep their glasses on and use them correctly. If you have preexisting eye conditions and have concerns about eclipse viewing, we encourage you to contact our office before the event. Our ophthalmologists can provide personalized advice based on your specific eye health and may recommend limiting your viewing time or using indirect viewing methods for added safety.

Keep your eclipse glasses in a protective case, sturdy envelope, or rigid container to prevent them from being bent, scratched, or crushed when not in use. Store them in a cool, dry place away from heat sources and direct sunlight, which can degrade the filter material over time. To clean them, gently wipe the lenses with a clean, soft, dry cloth. Never use water, cleaning solutions, or solvents, as these can damage the filter coating. Before each use, including years later for future eclipses, carefully inspect the glasses under bright light for any damage such as scratches, holes, or separated layers, and discard them if you find any defects.

No. Even a quick, one-second unprotected glance at any partially eclipsed sun can potentially cause permanent retinal damage, and repeated brief glances multiply your risk. Your eyes have no way to sense the damage happening in the moment because the retina has no pain receptors. Many people mistakenly believe that a brief look is harmless, but solar retinopathy can occur from very short exposures. Always wear ISO-certified eclipse glasses whenever any part of the bright sun is visible, no matter how briefly you plan to look.

Symptoms of solar retinopathy typically include blurred or wavy central vision, difficulty reading or recognizing faces, a central dark spot or blind area in your vision, distorted vision where straight lines appear bent or wavy, altered color perception, increased sensitivity to light, or headaches related to visual strain. These symptoms can appear within hours of exposure or may not become noticeable until the next day. If you experience any of these signs after viewing an eclipse, contact our office immediately for a comprehensive eye examination.

Yes. Solar retinopathy causes no pain during or immediately after the exposure because the retina contains no pain-sensing nerves. Children may not realize their eyes have been damaged and may not notice or report vision problems right away, especially if the damage affects only their central vision while their peripheral vision remains normal. This makes close adult supervision during eclipse viewing absolutely critical. Always ensure children wear their eclipse glasses correctly and never look up without them, even for a moment.

Wear ISO-certified eclipse glasses during all partial phases of the eclipse, which means from the moment the moon first begins to cover the sun until the moon completely moves away and the sun returns to its normal full appearance. This includes the beginning partial phase before totality, the ending partial phase after totality, and the entire event if you are viewing from a location outside the path of totality where the sun is never completely covered. The only safe time to remove your glasses is during the brief minutes or seconds of totality itself, when the sun is 100% covered by the moon, and you must put them back on immediately when any bright sunlight reappears.

Yes. Digital sensors in smartphones, tablets, and all types of cameras can be damaged by direct, unfiltered solar rays focused through the lens, just like your retina can be damaged. Without a proper solar filter, pointing your device at the sun can permanently damage the camera sensor, creating dead pixels or burnt spots that ruin future photos. Use certified solar filters designed for cameras and smartphones to protect your devices. Additionally, if your device has an optical viewfinder, never look through it at the sun without a filter, as this provides no protection for your eyes.

During totality, the moon has moved completely in front of the sun, blocking 100% of the bright solar disk and allowing you to see only the sun's faint outer atmosphere, called the corona, which is safe to view without protection. This phase is brief, lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on your location, and occurs only if you are within the narrow path of totality. Partial phases show any amount of the sun's intensely bright surface, from a tiny sliver to nearly the full disk, and require eclipse glasses for safe viewing. Even when 99% of the sun is covered, the remaining 1% is still far too bright to look at safely without protection.

Complete blindness from solar retinopathy is rare because the damage typically affects the central retina responsible for detailed, straight-ahead vision while leaving peripheral vision intact. However, staring directly at the sun during an eclipse without proper protection can cause permanent central vision loss severe enough to make reading, driving, recognizing faces, and performing detailed tasks extremely difficult or impossible. The severity of damage depends on how long you looked, how bright the sun was during your exposure, and individual factors like your age and eye health. Following strict safe viewing practices with certified eclipse glasses eliminates this risk entirely.