- Even during a total solar eclipse, exposure to harmful UV rays can lead to sunburn.
- The window of totality, where the sun is completely eclipsed, lasts only four minutes at most.
- Wear sunscreen when viewing the total solar eclipse on Monday.
If you’re watching the total solar eclipse on Monday, be sure to wear sunscreen.
Hopefully you already have a plan to protect your eyes from the sun, like wearing ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses. But you also need to think about your skin during the hour or two you spend watching the moon slip past the sun.
“Levels of harmful ultraviolet (UV) light will only be low during the brief total solar eclipse occurring in the narrow path of totality, during which the sun is completely blocked by the moon,” said Professor Christin Burd. in molecular genetics at Ohio State University, who studies melanoma and aging, told Business Insider in an email before the last total solar eclipse in the United States, in 2017.
Even if you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse between the clouds, sunscreen is still essential. This is because UV light, which we cannot see, still penetrates the clouds.
This security window of totality only lasts four minutes at most. After that, “unblocked UV rays will be intense and could easily cause sunburn,” Burn said.
Don’t let a sunburn ruin your solar eclipse experience. Sally Anscombe/Getty Images
Those who only go out for a few minutes to view a partial eclipse, which varies in timing and size across the country, might get away with not lathering on sunscreen.
Here are some other things you should bring if you want to see the total solar eclipse, according to Mark Littman and Fred Espenek, authors of “Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024.”
A pinhole camera.
A colander or straw hat, which allows the eclipse to be projected through holes on paper or cardboard.
Insect repellent
Snacks – it will be late afternoon after all
Binoculars – for pointing at paper
Sunglasses (not for watching the eclipse)
Solar eclipse glasses and solar filters — for observing the eclipse
Photographic equipment for taking photos of the eclipse
A notebook to record observations.
Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer contributed to an earlier version of this article.
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