(WSVN) - One of the most spectacular events in the sky is taking place next week. Don’t look up, unless you have the proper eye protection.
It’ll be the longest, most visible solar eclipse in more than a century as the moon will block out the sun.
But there are steps you can do right now to keep your eyes safe.
The countdown to one of nature’s most fascinating light shows is on as Americans gear up to watch Monday’s solar eclipse.
The phenomenon will take place in the afternoon, when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, which will block out the sun’s rays and will cast its shadow on the earth.
But while many people will get to see a partial eclipse as it crosses through North America, only a handful of folks will experience the full darkening effects based on its path.
“Only a single narrow path of people from really, uh Texas up to Maine will be able to see this event called totality,” said Dr. David Rogers with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
But no matter where your seat is for the event, doctors say you need proper protection for your eyes.
“If you look at the sun, directly with your unaided eye, you can damage the eye permanently and lose vision,” Rogers said.
So what are your options?
“Solar eclipse glasses are 100,000 times darker than your regular sunglasses,” he said. “Regular sunglasses absolutely cannot be used.”
These spectacles work by blocking invisible light rays from injuring your eyes.
“These are in ultraviolet and infrared rays that can actually damage that retina,” Rogers said.
For an indirect way to safely see the eclipse, NASA recommends making a pinhole projector.
“You can just use a sheet of paper, pinhole, and have the sun behind you, and then it’ll project through the hole, and then you’ll have shapes of the sun on the ground as the moon traverses,” said Heather Futrell, NASA’s Heliophysics Program Executive.
Pets should be kept inside for the big celestial event if they’re at risk of looking at the sun.
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