Officials are reminding people of the dangers of looking directly at the sun during a solar eclipse as Ontario ramps up for the once-in-a-lifetime event on April 8.
Looking at the sun during a partial eclipse can have serious and irreversible damage unless you are protected by ISO-certified “solar eclipse glasses” or indirect means of looking at the sun.
“There’s always danger to look at the sun. When we look at the sun, the UV from the sun can be damaging to your eyes,” said Dr. Carla Yassa with the Barrhaven Optometric Centre.
“Those are super important to wear if you’re going to be looking at the solar eclipse just to protect your eyes and protect you from this damage,” she said.
Doctors are reminding residents of the potential irreversible effects associated with staring at the sun.
But not all solar eclipse glasses are made the same. Queen’s University is warning that some being sold online are counterfeit and do not stop enough sunlight to be safe.
“They have to be certified and it’s really important that they’re from a reputable source,” said Dr. Yi Ning Strube, a Pediatric Ophthalmologist with the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
WHAT ARE SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES?
“These are not regular sunglasses,” said Gary Boyle, an astronomy educator and enthusiast known as ‘The Backyard Astronomer.’
“They’re only made to look at the sun, do not drive with them. And if you can’t even find the glasses, you can buy a number of 14 welder’s glasses, which does the same thing pretty well.”
Safe sun glasses must comply with the International Organization for Standardization’s certified glasses, labelled ISO-12312-2. The eclipse can be looked at directly without proper eye protection only when the moon completely obscures the sun’s bright face – during the brief and spectacular period known as totality.
Another way to indirectly look at the sun is to use a kitchen tool, such as a spaghetti colander or vegetable strainer.
“Just like the pinhole camera that you built in in school,” he said. “And in this case you’ll see 58 little semi circles at the moon.”
The Canadian Space Agency also provides instructions on how to create your own solar eclipse viewing device.
Legitimate solar eclipse glasses should be marked with ISO certification. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
Experts warn not to use a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or any other optical device that does not have a solar filter while wearing eclipse glasses. The concentrated solar rays can burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury.
Experts also recommend wearing sunscreen, a hat and protective clothing to prevent skin damage.
There are several recommendations online on where to find certified and reputable solar eclipse glasses.
CAN I GO BLIND IF I STARE DIRECTLY AT A SOLAR ECLIPSE?
Eclipse glasses should fit snugly enough so that wearers can shake their head without them falling off, according to Robert Cockcroft, an assistant professor at the department of physics and astronomy at McMaster University.
People who wear prescription glasses should make sure the solar lenses can fit underneath.
He says people may want to experiment wearing just eclipse glasses, and not their prescription lenses, if that makes them more secure on their face. People can put the filters on first before their glasses if it fully covers their eyes better..
NASA says the only safe time to look at the sun with the naked eye is during the brief phase of totality when the moon completely covers the sun.
“You’ll know it’s safe when you can no longer see any part of the sun through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer,” NASA says on its website.
“As soon as you see even a little bit of the bright sun reappear after totality, immediately put your eclipse glasses back on or use a handheld solar viewer to look at the sun.”
Experts says people who will only see a partial eclipse since they aren’t in the path of totality should not remove their eclipse glasses or proper eye protection.
How to build your own eclipse projector (Canadian Space Agency).
“While it is safe to view the eclipse during totality without eclipse glasses, most viewers in Canada are not located in a city where totality will be visible and should therefore keep their eclipse glasses on for the duration of the event to avoid the risk of solar retinopathy,” said Dr. Shaina Nensi, vice-president of the Ontario Association of Optometrists.
Those who are in a city within the path of totality should find out the time it will occur and how long it will last, she added.
If people expose their eyes to the sun without protection they could develop solar retinopathy, a condition in which the retina is damaged from looking directly at the sun or another bright light source.
Since retinas don’t have pain receptors, people won’t feel pain if they are damaged.
Retinopathy can lead to permanent or temporary blind spots, distortions to vision and the way people see colour, increased light sensitivity, eye pain and grittiness (or feeling like there is sand in your eye), and even complete blindness, Nensi explained.
Nensi recommends people see an optometrist immediately if they experience symptoms, even if they are mild. The symptoms can be irreversible, depending on how long the person stares at the eclipse, she said.
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.
