Let’s start with 5 things YOU SHOULD NOT DO during a solar eclipse.
From Forbes.com:
1.) Do not waste your time photographing it. Totality is brief, and you won’t experience it again for years.
2.) Do not leave your eclipse glasses on during totality. As soon as you cannot see the Sun through your eclipse glasses, take them off. Totality is here.
3.) Stop viewing the Sun through binoculars/telescopes before totality ends. Looking at direct Sun for even a split second through binoculars/telescopes can blind you forever.
4.) Don’t rely solely on your eyes. The temperature will drop; nocturnal animals may emerge; street lamps light up; birds fall silent. Take it all in.
5.) Don’t notice or do one thing exclusively. Take in the Sun’s active corona, the entire sky, the stars and planets, and the shadowed, dark Earth before totality ends.
Great list. Read it again and take notes.
Next up, let’s check out your eclipse glasses to make sure they aren’t counterfeit and will protect you from eye damage. The AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force has been working diligently to compile a list of such vendors, now posted on our Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers page. Click HERE for that list of confirmed recommended providers.
From The AAS (American Astronomical Society):
How do you know if your eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers are truly safe? You need to know that they meet the ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written as ISO 12312-2:2015) international safety standard. Filters that are ISO 12312-2 compliant not only reduce visible sunlight to safe and comfortable levels but also block solar UV and IR radiation.
Can’t get glasses in time? Make a pin hole projector!
(Using pinhole projection does not mean looking at the Sun through a pinhole in cardboard!)
Click HERE for a list of AAS approved DIY projects for the August 21st, 2017 Solar Eclipse.
And finally, listen to optometrist Dr. Wilson Movic, from Eyecare Associates in Bloomington, describe the damage that can be done to your vision (or your child’s eye sight) if you don’t follow the safety instructions provided.
Monday is going to be fun. I’ll see you outside around 1pm.
