"Friday morning will see the most spectacular eclipse of the sun for 15 years, in a rare astronomical alignment as the Moon will pass directly between the sun and the Earth, blocking out most of the light. Viewers in the UK will witness a partial eclipse of at least 80%, with Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to experience the darkest conditions.
Make sure you don’t lose the sight of your eyes during the eclipse...
Many of our patients are asking for advice about how to view the eclipse safely. Here are a few top tips to ensure that you view the eclipse safely without damaging your eyes:
- Never look directly at the sun or use any instruments like binoculars, telescopes or cameras to view the sun directly. Doing so can permanently damage your eyesight.
- The only safe way to view the eclipse is indirectly, through a device such as a pinhole projector. This cheap and easy method projects the sun’s image onto a screen, such as a sheet of white paper or cardboard.
- Never point an unprotected camera lens at the sun as this can cause permanent damage to the camera and to your eyes. To take photos of the sun without damaging your camera, you will need to use a solar filter recommended by your camera manufacturer.
NO SELFIES!! It’s hard to resist, we know but yes, no selfies please folks!
We hope you find this advice useful and if you have any questions then please do not hesitate to visit one of our practices to speak to an Optician or leave a comment and we will get back to you.