Here’s how to protect your eyes ahead of the solar eclipse on April 8. (Getty Images)
A total solar eclipse is coming to many parts of the United States, Mexico and Canada on April 8, prompting a rush of travel plans by people hoping to get in the phenomenon’s path and see the spectacle. But experts are sounding the alarm: Safety first, solar eclipse second!
Staring at the sun can cause potentially permanent damage to your eyes and vision — yes, even if the moon is covering it. Here’s what to know about watching the solar eclipse, from the best ways to protect your vision to the extra precautions parents should take to protect children’s eyes during this major celestial event. According to NASA, the next total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. won’t be until 2044 — so you’ll want to do this one right.
???? What can looking at a solar eclipse do to your vision?
Looking directly at the eclipse can do the same damage to your eyes as looking directly at the sun on a perfectly clear day. What makes an eclipse a more dangerous time for eye injuries, though, is that the sky and the surroundings will look dark during it. In reality, the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays are every bit as powerful from behind the moon.
“If you go outside and look at the sun, it’s very bright, and you can’t do it for long,” Dr. Ronald Benner, president of the American Optometric Association (AOA), whose private practice is in Laurel, Mont., tells Yahoo Life. “But when we have a solar eclipse, the moon in front of the sun darkens it, so people are going to be pretty tempted because it’s not as harsh. But the problem is that you’re still getting high-intensity UV light that can burn and scar the retinal tissue.”
That can cause an injury known as solar retinopathy. The retina plays a crucial role in vision. It’s a highly light-sensitive layer of neural tissue that surrounds the back of the eye, connecting to the optic nerve and processing visual information.
Eclipse or not, when you look straight at the sun for an extended period, its UV radiation has a straight shot to the retina, “which is brain tissue,” cautions Benner. “Once brain tissue is damaged, it’s damaged.”
But it’s usually not painful right away. It might take two to three days before you feel the effects, which might include altered color vision, seeing spots or having blotchy vision, which may be permanent. Because there’s a delay in both pain and vision loss from staring at a solar eclipse, it is not really known how common this is, but Benner says he’s met a number of adults with the condition.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done after the eye is damaged from looking at a solar eclipse. “We don’t have great treatments,” Dr. Nicole Bajic, an ophthalmologist with the Cleveland Clinic, tells Yahoo Life. “People have tried steroids, but the data on that isn’t good. It’s more of a ‘tincture of time’ — if it’s going to improve with time, it will, but for others, it does not.”
???? How can you safely watch the solar eclipse?
There’s really only one “do” for watching the solar eclipse, and lots of don’ts. The most important must-do is to watch through solar eclipse glasses. These are specially designed spectacles that are thousands — yes, thousands — of times darker than regular sunglasses, according to NASA.
Eclipse glasses have an ISO (a metric of sensitivity to light) of 12312-2, and real ones will be marked with that number. “If glasses are not stamped with that, they’re not approved for watching the eclipse,” Benner says. “And even if they are, you still want to make sure that they are from a reputable source.”
Scammers often sell fake glasses in the lead-up to eclipses, which can lead to permanent eye damage. The best way to be sure you’re getting the real thing is to buy them from the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) list of solar viewers and filters. If your glasses are the real deal, they will be very dark. Benner says that if you can put them on in your home and see a light that’s on, they’re not approved solar eclipse glasses.
Once you have approved glasses, you still need to use them correctly. When you go outside to see the eclipse, be sure to keep your head down, then put on your glasses and make sure they’re well positioned and secure before you look up to see the eclipse.
“You don’t want to look up and say, ‘Where is it?’ then put the glasses on,” Benner says.
Other don’ts: Don’t use regular sunglasses, double sunglasses, welding glasses, binoculars or telescopes to look at the eclipse. You also don’t get protection from a camera or a smartphone camera. If you want to photograph the eclipse, you’ll still need to wear eclipse glasses and fit your lens with a special filter, also available from the AAS list. You can buy or make solar optical projectors, including pinhole cameras, but be sure you follow instructions from the AAS.
???? Take extra care with kids.
As exciting as a solar eclipse might be to your kids, keep in mind that they may not fully understand the risks of looking at the solar eclipse without protection, and the consequences could be with them for life. According to the AAS, the majority of people who sustain eye injuries during the eclipse are children and young adults.
“You can put the approved glasses on them, but make sure kids understand the rules,” says Benner. Several of the companies listed on the AAS’s website sell children’s solar eclipse glasses, which will ensure a good fit and that your kids’ eyes are securely covered.
But Benner and Bajic say parents need to be really honest with themselves about their children’s behavior. Young kids may not understand rules and consequences well; some may be prone to rule-breaking, and those with conditions like autism may have a harder time keeping the glasses on and following precautions. “If you don’t think they’re going to follow the rules, don’t take them out — be safe, not sorry,” adds Benner.
Bajic echoes Benner’s warning, and adds a reminder of a cardinal rule with kids: “The last thing you want to tell them is, ‘Don’t look up at the sky,’” because that often just makes a child want to do exactly the opposite.
Also, since April 8 is a Monday, kids may be at daycare or school then, in which case parents should speak with their child’s teacher or child care provider about plans for the day. Will kids be let outside for the solar eclipse? Will glasses be provided? Now’s the time to get details and raise any concerns about how your child might respond.
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.
