Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
WHY IS WATCHING THE ECLIPSE MORE DANGEROUS THAN LOOKING AT THE SUN ON A NORMAL DAY?
When people look up at the sun normally, the intense brightness triggers pain that causes them to look away quickly before it can cause damage, said Dr. Philip Hooper, president of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.
But as the moon starts to block the sun in the period leading up to the total eclipse “there is significant light energy that’s coming from the sun, but we don’t appreciate pain. And so you can look at it long enough to do damage to the eye,” said Hooper, who is also an associate professor of ophthalmology at Western University in London, Ont.
HOW DOES STARING AT THE SUN DAMAGE OUR EYES?
When you’re looking directly at the sun, intense visible light and infrared radiation are focused on the centre of the retina in the back of the eye.
“It’s basically like taking a magnifying glass in the sun on a normal day and focusing that light on a piece of paper. It can get hot enough to burn the paper,” Hooper said.
The sun has the same effect, because your eye concentrates that energy into a small area of the retina.
“The temperature of the cells in that area can actually get high enough that the fluid in the cells actually boils and it damages the cells permanently,” he said.
CAN I JUST PUT MY SUNGLASSES ON TO WATCH THE ECLIPSE?
No. Sunglasses do not provide protection, Hooper said.
WHAT IF I STAY INSIDE AND WATCH THROUGH THE WINDOW?
Again, no. Windows offer no protection.
IS IT SAFE TO WATCH THROUGH A PHONE CAMERA?
No.
“Eclipse or not, you shouldn’t look at the sun directly with the naked eye, or with a camera or telescope, without a (certified) solar filter. This can lead to irreversible eye damage,” says an eclipse safety video posted online by the Canadian Space Agency.
Pointing your phone camera directly at the eclipse may also have other consequences.
“Just remember that your camera on your phone has lenses just like eyeglasses do, and that light is coming in from the sun as soon as you open the shutter,” said Elaina Hyde, director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory at York University in Toronto.
“At the very least you could expect to damage your camera. You won’t be able to see anything, again, because your phone is not able to handle that light.”
HOW DO I SAFELY WATCH THE ECLIPSE?
You’ll need special glasses with filters designed for eclipse watching, says the Canadian Space Agency website.
Those glasses must have side protection so that light rays can’t enter, said Hooper.
They must also have certified lenses, he said.
The certification ISO 12312-2 should be printed on the glasses, which means the glasses meet international safety standards.
While wearing the glasses, you should not be able to see anything unless you’re staring at the sun.
“No matter how bright a light you are exposed to in your indoor environment, if you shone a very bright light through them, you’d see nothing. They’re totally black. That’s how dark they are,” Hooper said.
The eclipse glasses should not be used if they are “scratched, punctured, torn, or otherwise damaged,” the American Astronomical Society says on its website, noting that people should inspect their glasses before using them.
The society also says that children using the glasses during the eclipse must be supervised at all times.
WHERE CAN I GET THE ISO 12312-2 CERTIFIED GLASSES?
Free eclipse-viewing glasses are available at many libraries, cities and school districts across Canada, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada website.
The American Astronomical Society has a list of companies and retailers in both Canada and the U.S. that sell certified solar eclipse glasses on its website.
Some companies selling them in Quebec are listed on the Eclipse Quebec website.
WHAT ABOUT WELDING GOGGLES?
Welding goggles come in a variety of shades, denoted by number, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website.
The minimum darkness required to safely watch the eclipse is shade 13, said Hooper.
“That’s much darker than the welding glasses or goggles that are typically used by welders. And they’re not widely available,” he said.
IF I DON’T HAVE THE CERTIFIED GLASSES, IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION?
Another option for safe viewing is to make a projector so that you are never looking directly at the sun. It can be as basic as a piece of paper with a pinhole that projects the light from the sun onto the sidewalk, or a projector made out of a box.
The Canadian Space Agency website has simple instructions on how to make a projector using an empty cardboard box, a sheet of white paper, aluminum foil, a pin, tape and scissors.
For instructions, visit https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/youth-educators/activities/fun-experiments/eclipse-projector.asp
-With files from Sonja Puzic
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
