Dr. Michael Migliori, chief of ophthalmology at Rhode Island Hospital, said, “It's an amazing natural phenomenon, and I'm sure everyone wants to see it. “The problem with an eclipse is that the light is really concentrated. When you were a kid you could take a magnifying glass and burn the leaves. The light from a solar eclipse can cause significant damage to the back of the eye, causing irreversible damage.”
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, eventually completely blocking the Sun's face (“totality”), causing dramatic daytime darkness. On the road to perfection About 3 to 4 minutes. In New England, the full path of the April 8 eclipse will cover northwestern Vermont and parts of New Hampshire and Maine. Eclipse viewers from Boston to Providence and elsewhere in New England will see approximately 90 percent of the sun covered that is not in the total eclipse path.
It's during this partial eclipse that doctors and scientists warn that protective glasses with special sun-blocking materials are essential, and doctors and scientists warn that they should be worn — when the moon slowly moves to cover the sun and then begins to move away from the sun again. the face
“During the partial phase, the Sun is still bright. Even at ½ percent brightness, you can damage your eye looking at it,” said Ian Del Antonio, professor of physics at Brown University.
“Because it's coming from a smaller area, it's still going to burn on your retina,” Dell'Antonio said. “You don't want to stare too much. Looking for a fraction of a second – your eyes can recover from that – but people don't want to look at it for several seconds if it's not under perfection.
Nimesh Patel, director of retina for children and adults at Mass General Eye and Ear, says the darkness caused by the eclipse dilates the eyes and lets in more light. This makes eclipse watchers unwittingly want to spend more time looking at the Sun during an eclipse. They usually do on a regular day.
Choosing the right eclipse glasses
How do you know which eclipse glasses will protect you against the sun's harmful rays?
According to the American Astronomical Society, solar viewers or eclipse glasses are needed to reduce the sun's UV radiation. International Standards Organization Or ISO 12312-2 International Standard for Filters. The ISO certificate should be marked on the side of the glass. Screening is critical to protecting your eyes from significant damage, experts said, as they filter not only the sun's harmful UV and infrared rays, but also 99.9% of the sun's intense light.
“Such filters are at least 1,000 times darker than dark sunglasses,” said Rick Feinberg, project manager of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force and a veteran of 14 total solar eclipses.
AAS recommends using Trusted sellers and retailers They can be purchased anywhere from inexpensive safety glasses made of paper to sturdy, more expensive eye shields. Many low-cost paper glasses have been widely available online and in stores for weeks, but they sell out quickly.
Here you can get eclipse glasses or solar viewers
• Thousand Oaks Optical – Solar observers and filter sheets.
• Flip'n Shades – Provide clip-ons for baseball caps and visors.
• Seymour Solar – Sunlight filter film sheets are safe for direct sunlight viewing and use with any binoculars, refractor, telescopes, viewfinders, spotting scopes, cameras or cell phone camera.
• Halo eclipse glasses – For solar eclipse watchers willing to spend a little more, there are solar viewers that cost upwards of $80.
Major retail chains that carry eclipse glasses
Retailers that carry ISO-certified eclipse glasses include:
• Walmart
• target
• los
• Staples
• Warby Parker — The glasses retailer will have a limited number of free eclipse glasses available in their stores beginning April 1, with a limit of two per person.
The AAS said people should be wary of ISO-marked fake glasses sold at low prices via major online platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Temu.
Eclipse glasses don't expire, so if you had a pair during the last total solar eclipse in 2017, you can use them as long as they don't have scratches or tears, experts said.
Patel said people should also avoid using unfiltered binoculars or binoculars to view the eclipse. There are also special tools for your smartphone, binoculars and cameras.
“The concentrated rays can burn through the lenses and cause damage,” said Patel, who avoids the April 8 eclipse as a matter of eye protection. “I am very scared. You will never know. As an ophthalmologist, I don't look at the sun.
Dell'Antonio said a group of Brown University students planned to drive more than six hours to experience the totality of the eclipse.
“I've seen two total eclipses in my life, and they were both spectacular things,” Dell'Antonio said. “There's something about being in the darkness of totality. Partial eclipses are nice and neat. There will be other partial eclipses you see, but total eclipses are something to chase. I know people who plan all their vacations around them.
It's a long wait for the next total solar eclipse, which will be on August 23, 2044, the second consecutive U.S. eclipse.
Carlos Munoz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @ReadCarlos And on Instagram @Carlosbrknews.
