How can you view a solar eclipse without damaging your eyes?

Answer 1

There are UV rays still glaring down from the visible prominences of the sun which can cause serious damage to the human eye. one of the ways to view this amazing cosmic event is get a certain camera filter with a certain filter.

The other reason being, when there is eclipse, there is darkness and hence the pupil in our eye expand to absorb more light in order to see better. But when the moon moves further there is a sudden burst of light coming in and our pupils are still expanded(it takes more time for it to settle down) by then the burst of light directly falling on the eyes would have caused a lot of harm.

Added to this, during eclipse, the curiosity makes us stare at the sun for longer then the usual glance that we do of a fraction of second. This adds to the side-effects caused to the eyes during a solar eclipse.

Answer 2

It's bad to look at the sun at any time, because doing that can cause permanent, incurable

damage to your eyes.

During a solar eclipse, weird things are happening to the sun, and people are tempted to

stand there and stare at it which, as we said earlier, can cause permanent, incurable damage

to your eyes.

That's why it's bad to look at a solar eclipse.

Staring at a lunar eclipse is no problem, as long as you're not standing in the middle of the street

while you're watching it.

When you look at the Sun your eye reacts to the bright light by narrowing the iris, which reduces the light hitting your retina, making it slightly more difficult to damage your sight. During a solar eclipse your eye adjusts to the dark conditions by widening the iris, allowing more light in. However any exposed area of the Sun is just as bright as usual so it is very easy to cause permanent damage.

Answer 3

It is not dangerous to look directly at a lunar eclipse. During a lunar eclipse, you are viewing the moon not the sun. It IS dangerous to look directly at a SOLAR ECLIPSE! Keep reading to find out why ...

It is always dangerous to look at the sun for long periods because it can damage the eye and cause retinal scaring and eye cancer. However, unlike what most people think, looking at the sun for brief periods of time at low altitudes is fine. Although exposure beyond 60 seconds is not recommended, an average non-dialeted eye should be able to handle exposure up to 90 seconds without any permanent sideeffects. During a lunar eclipse it is nighttime and the moon is full. You are viewing the moon not the sun.

But during a SOLAR eclipse, where the moon moves into position blocking the view of the sun you still have what appears as a ring of the outer edge of the sun. The light from the sun which would normally cause great discomfort to look directly at the sun is now shielded. The outer ring, or corona, that is still visible still has the ability to blind someone without causing the normal discomfort of looking at the sun. Therefore I would suggest that you stay indoors when there is a solar eclipse to avoid the temptation to stare at the sun. A shadow box can be constructed with the aid of a science teacher to safely experience the eclipse without actually looking at it. Also there are special lenses that a science teacher could expound on which scientists studying solar eclipses can use, (polarizing lenses?).

Answer 4

It is safe to view a lunar eclipse without any eye protection. It is also safe to view a full un-eclipsed moon without eye protection and a lunar eclipse necessarily involves less overall light. It is, however, not safe to view a solar eclipse without eye protection.

Answer 5

A word of caution: there is no 100% safe way to view a solar eclipse; with all methods you could be blinded by inadvertently looking at the sun.

However, you can view a solar eclipse by poking a hole on an index card or a blank piece of paper, and holding another paper under the first. Simply stare at the second paper, and you will be able to view the solar eclipse.

Although the pinhole projection does not provide a large image of the eclipse, it is better than viewing it with the naked eye. There are other more complicated ways to view an eclipse; however, this method is the simplest. Many websites suggest usage of Mylar Film - SOLAR FILTERS as safe method to view the Solar Eclipse. Eclipse Goggles fitted with Solar Filters can be found on www.astronomyindia.org/shop and one can obtain from them door delivered. Follow the instructions provided along with this filter.

Answer 6

If you look directly at the sun during the partial eclipse phases of an eclipse, the light will be bright enough to permanently damage your retina, resulting in seriously impaired vision or blindness. This can happen even though the light is dim enough that you feel no pain. Actually, it happens becausethe light is so dim that it causes no pain. If there was pain, you would likely look away before being permanently damaged.

You can safely look directly at the sun during the totality phase, when all parts of the sun are completely blocked by the moon, except the spectacularly active corona which we never see under normal circumstances. However, you need to look away from that unusual sight well BEFORE totality ends. If you wait to see the edge of the sun peak out from behind the moon, you court severe eye damage. The problem is that you may not know exactly when totality ends at your specific location.

For this reason, the safest way to look at a solar eclipse is by projection. Make a pin hole in a box and look at the light projected on the opposite side of the box. Or use a telescope or binoculars - without looking directly through the device, direct it toward the sun and focus the projection from the eyepiece on a piece of paper some distance from the instrument.

NEVER observe a solar eclipse by looking directly through a telescope, monocular, binocular or any other magnifying device, even for an instant. Blindness is likely to result if you do that without the proper solar filters.

Never use welders lenses or exposed film negatives to view a solar eclipse. They are not dark enough for safe use in this way.

Answer 7

During a total solar eclipse, it is safe to look since the moon is blocking most of the sun's light. During a partial solar eclipse, infrared light can damage your retinas if you look directly at the sun. It is recommended to look through #14 welder's glass in order to avoid such eye damage. Looking at the moon during a lunar eclipse is not dangerous.

Answer 8

Viewing a solar eclipse (eclipse of the sun) without eye protection is dangerous. The reason is

that looking at the sun anytime is hazardous to your vision, and the novelty of an eclipse raises

the chances that people will look at the sun while an eclipse is in progress.

During an eclipse, two facts combine to increase the usual danger:

1). During an eclipse, with part of the sun "missing", the light of day may be dull, dim, and dingy.

It's a lot "easier" and a lot less dazzling to look at the sun. But the image of the sun focused on

the retina inside the eye is just as dangerous as ever, even with part of the sun missing.

2). You can't feel the damage happening. You wouldn't know anything, until you noticed that

you can't see anything right in the middle. By then it's too late ... the damage is done.

Bottom line: Don't look at the sun.

Answer 9

Have you ever burned an ant, a leaf, or a piece of paper, using a magnifying glass

to focus the sun on it ? That's what the telescope lens would do to the inside of

your eye if you used it to look at the sun.

Answer 10

There is no danger in watching a lunar eclipse, so look all you want.

It isn't a solar eclipse that can blind you; it is looking at the Sun that does the damage. NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.

To safely view a solar eclipse, build a solar eclipse viewer, or get a solar projector for your telescope. This projects an image of the Sun that you can safely look at without ever turning your face toward the Sun.