Thursday, March 28th, 2024
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Be Safe While Viewing Eclipse

If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can still see the eclipse safely by using a projection method.

If you will be anywhere in Pennsylvania or the immediate surrounding states during the solar eclipse today, do not look directly at the sun. The only place that it will be safe to view the solar eclipse without safety glasses is during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse (“totality”), when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face, which will happen only within the narrow path of totality. Since nowhere in Pennsylvania will the eclipse be total, safety glasses should be worn during the entire event.

NASA has instructions for how to view the 2017 Solar Eclipse Safely at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety.

General guidelines:
The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun.

Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.

Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury.

If you do not have eclipse glasses, you can still see the eclipse safely by using a projection method. Easy to make/use pinhole and optical projections are explained at: https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/projection.

 

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