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The anticipated Solar Eclipse is around the corner and Londoners are preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime event. An Astronomy professor at Western University, Pauline Barmby urges Londoners to make sure they have the correct pair of eyewear for this event.
“There have been reports of people selling fake glasses that don’t meet the standards and if you end up with those, they are not adequate to protect your eyes. You could be risking your eyesight if you use them,” says Barmby.
According to NASA’s website, the correct pair of solar eclipse sunglasses to wear is the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard, and inspect your glasses before use because if they are torn, scratched, or damaged, you must discard them.
Depending on where you are to view the solar eclipse there is potential to eye damage if you look into the eclipse without any protection.
“At the front of your eye, there’s a lens that’s what allows you to see and the lens will focus the light from the sun onto your retina and it can burn holes in your retina. You won’t feel that because there are no nerves there to let you feel pain. By the time you realize it, it’s too late,” says Barmby.
Barmby explains that there are different ways to take precautions when watching the solar eclipse.
“If you’re in London, you need to have some way of safely looking at the sun. You can use what’s called a pinhole camera, that’s where you take a box and you put just a little hole in one and look at the projected light of the sun,” says Barmby.
A welding student of Fanshawe College, Christian Morgan is going to view the solar eclipse with his family members but he is using a different way to view the solar eclipse.
A Welder using their welding mask. Photo By Pixabay.
“I learned back in high school in 2017, was welding equipment, can be used because of its dimming effects on extremely harsh lights. My professor looked into it and we were allowed to use it on its maximum setting to dim the solar eclipse. Well, enough to view it directly through the masks,” says Morgan.
NASA says the only ones that are safe for use are those with shades of 12 or higher which are darker filters for welding masks. However, if you have an older welder mask that is a shade less than 12 then it’s best to not use it to stare at the sun.
Carissa Vizniowski is traveling to Port Stanley Beach or St. Thomas to see the eclipse. She will be using the international standard solar eclipse sunglasses but what she does not recommend is to take pictures during the event.
“I suggest not to use your phone to take pictures and if you do, use a reflective lens on it Otherwise, it will burn your phone. It’s that powerful and it’s happened before. The ray of sun is not bouncing off anything, so it goes straight to your phone and burns your camera,” says Vizniowski.
Nasa suggests not to look at an uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device.
Londoners who are planning to view the solar eclipse next week should make sure to have proper eyewear, welding masks, or any filtered lenses to not risk any eye damage or your device during this event.
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