StemCell Therapy

Solar eclipse safety

SOUTHERN COLORADO, Colo. - In a little less than three weeks, the moon will cross in front of the sun, creating a total solar eclipse. While it's a sight to behold, you need to do so safely.

Millions are gearing up to see the total solar eclipse across the country. The astronomical feat happens when the sun, moon and Earth align completely. The moon's shadow falls on the earth's surface. However, only select cities across the U.S. will be the path of totality. Along this line, the stars will come out in the middle of the day.

Right here in Colorado, we'll only experience 90 percent of the eclipse. While it will be impressive, it won't be quite as life-changing as experiencing the event along the path of totality which sits to our north. If you plan on participating in the event, just remember to use ISO certified eye glasses to protect your eyesight. Never look into the sun without protection.

"When it does that, it can cause irreversible vision damage like loss of visual acuity or spots in your vision that don't go away, said optometrist Dr. Lindsay Sallecchai.

Dr. Sallecchai says it's not enough to just use your eclipse glasses, peer through the lens and call it good. In fact, your telescope or camera intensifies the sun's power, damaging your glasses and damaging your eyes as a result.

"Just because there's an eclipse doesn't mean the sun lessens in power. It's still the sun, "said Keith Barger. "It can damage your eye and even damage cameras if they're not protected."

Barger from the Space Foundation showed us how to use special filters for your telescope.

You can also put a piece of cardboard around the lens and cast a shadow onto a white sheet of paper to view the moon passing in front of the sun.

Don't forget, you can also attach your camera to the telescope to capture the phenomenon. As long as you have the filter over the telescope, you're good to go.

If you don't have the right filters for your telescope or the certified eclipse glasses, there's still another method for viewing the eclipse safely. Put a thumbtack in the middle of a paper plate. Hold it up to the sun, and cast a shadow onto a white piece of paper.

Buyers beware! Some vendors are selling counterfeit eclipse glasses that aren't certified. To find a list of approved vendors, head to our main webpage and click under the hot button.

The rest is here:
Solar eclipse eye safety - KRDO

This entry was posted on August 3, 2017 at 10:44 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |