Watching the 2024 solar eclipse without protection can damage your eyes. Here’s how to view it safely

“Eclipse Across America” will air live on Monday, April 8 starting at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu as well as on social media.

Millions of people across North America will soon gather to witness the historic total eclipse of the Sun on April 8.

Although it may be tempting to observe the sun slowly being covered, then completely blocked, by the moon, doing so with the naked eye can result in lasting or even permanent eye damage.

“The Sun is a very powerful star,” Debra Ross, co-chair of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Eclipse Working Group, told ABC News. “This means that our bodies are not conditioned to look at the sun. This causes eye damage if we ever try to stare directly at the sun.”

“It’s tempting to try to do this during the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, because you want to see what’s happening,” she continued, adding that looking at the sun without proper glasses would definitely cause doubt of retinal lesions.

Experts explained why observing an eclipse can damage the eyes, what type of glasses you’ll need to view the “Great American Eclipse” and when is the only time you can take those glasses off.

What is “eclipse blindness”?

Looking at the sun during the eclipse without proper eye protection – even for just a few seconds – can lead to “eclipse blindness” or solar retinopathy.

This is the retina, which is the layer at the back of the eye. Photoreceptors, which are cells located inside the retina, convert light into electrical signals. These signals are sent through the optic nerve to the brain to create the image a person sees.

However, looking at the sun during an eclipse can burn the retina. Mild symptoms may include watery eyes, eye pain, headache, and sensitivity to light, but more severe symptoms include blurred vision, blind spots, weak vision, distorted vision, and eye pain.

“Imagine you’re looking at something that’s too bright and you have an afterimage, and usually the afterimage disappears,” said Dr. Jason Comander, director of the Inherited Retinal Disorders Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, at ABC News. “Well, imagine that afterimage stays there for the rest of your life. That’s what an eclipse burn would look like.”

“There have been people who have taken pictures of the retina and you can see a crescent-shaped burn in the retina, hence the image of the sun has been etched onto it,” he added.

If you think you have suffered a burn to your retina, experts advise you to immediately see an eye doctor, such as an eye doctor or optometrist, to monitor the condition.

Can I watch the eclipse with sunglasses?

Typically, sunglasses protect the eyes from harmful rays with a mirror coating and an ultraviolet (UV) coating to protect your eyes from UV rays and an anti-reflective coating to limit glare.

However, when it comes to an eclipse, regular sunglasses won’t provide adequate protection, nor will stacking multiple pairs of sunglasses on top of each other.

“Unfortunately, sunglasses aren’t enough because they need to be 1,000 times darker than regular sunglasses,” said Dr. Nicole Bajic, an ophthalmologist and assistant professor at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, at ABC News. “So we’re specifically looking at eclipse glasses, and those have a special filter called ISO 12312-2.”

ISO 12312-2 is the international safety standard for solar viewers or products designed for direct viewing of the sun. This does not apply to solar filters that fit on the front of devices such as camera lenses.

Since counterfeit glasses, which claim to be ISO compliant but in reality have not been thoroughly tested, can be easily found for sale online, it is advisable to check the AAS website for approved suppliers.

“When you receive the eclipse glasses, I want everyone to inspect them just to make sure they are free of scratches, holes or tears that would let direct sunlight through,” Bajic said.

How to use solar eclipse glasses?

When observing partial phases of the solar eclipse, when the moon only partially covers the sun, experts advise keeping eclipse glasses on.

Likewise, if you’re looking through a camera lens, binoculars or telescope, make sure it has a special solar filter according to NASA.

The only time it is safe to remove glasses is during the brief period of totality, when the sun is completely covered by the moon, which lasts a maximum of four and a half minutes.

As soon as the moon starts to move, it’s time to put the glasses back on.

“You’ll see a burst of light coming out from behind the moon,” Ross said. “You know this is your cue to go put them back in and then you can watch the second partial phase of the eclipse.”

Full totality will only occur along a narrow path, and most of North America will experience a partial solar eclipse. As such, most viewers will need special, safe solar filters to view the eclipse, according to the AAS.

What should I do if I don’t have eclipse glasses?

If you don’t have eclipse glasses, there are still creative ways to view the clips. One of them is through a pinhole viewer.

Punch a hole in a piece of cardboard and look down to see the crescent-shaped shadow of the sun cast on the ground.

“You can also do this with a regular spaghetti strainer,” Ross explained. “You will see a lot of small suns being slowly eclipsed by the moon. We advise you to do this instead of trying to look at the sun without approved solar filters.”

To use the viewer, position your back to the sun so that you are not looking directly at the sun through the pinhole camera and use the pinhole viewer at your own risk as they are not officially reviewed for safety reasons.