There’s a total solar eclipse passing through the US on April 8 this year, and natural-wonder seekers, take note: It’ll be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous US until 2044, NASA says.
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon momentarily blocks the sun’s face, resulting in a very cool yet very eerie darkness. It’s the same type of eclipse that happened in 2017; last year’s was only an annular eclipse.
As Delta cashes in with a special solar eclipse flight and hotels sell out, people are already making travel plans to states with the full view of “totality,” which include parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as smaller parts of Michigan and Tennessee.
Whether it’s a total solar eclipse or an annular eclipse, it’s important you know the safety rules and find the right eye protection if you plan on looking at an eclipse. Aside from the very short moment of darkness that is the total solar eclipse, the sun will be partially eclipsed this April, making special eclipse glasses crucial if you plan to be outside or viewing the sky in any way.
Dr. Ronald Benner, president of the American Optometric Association, told us last October that unsafe viewing of a solar eclipse can cause solar retinopathy, which is a type of retinal damage he compared to sunburn on the “satellite dish of the eye.” Failing to wear proper eye protection will let in a dangerous amount of ultraviolet radiation and damage the macular tissue in the retina.
“Once it’s burned and scarred, it’s a bad thing,” Benner said.
Here’s what to know about solar eclipse eye safety, including how to find the right glasses and what looking at an eclipse can do to your vision if you forgo the glasses.
<figure uuid="feee973a-d32a-43a6-8e3b-de57865a80f6" size="large" float="none" image-caption="
NASA’s map shows the lucky strip of the US that will be within the viewing area of the total solar eclipse this April 8.
” image-credit=”NASA; screenshot by CNET” image-alt-text=”A map of the total solar eclipse” image-filename=”screenshot-2024-02-21-at-1-53-29pm.png” image-date-created=”2024/02/21″ image-width=”1994″ image-height=”994″ image-do-not-crop=”false” image-do-not-resize=”false” image-watermark=”false” lightbox=”false” edition=”us” class=”c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption”>
