Title: Solar Eclipse and Your Eyes - Prevent Blindness
Headings: Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024
Your Sight
Protect Your Eyes from the Sun
Solar Eclipse – April 8, 2024
Protect your eyes!
What is a solar eclipse?
How can your eyes be affected by a solar eclipse?
What are the eye symptoms that can occur from looking at a solar eclipse without proper eye protection?
How to safely watch a solar eclipse
How not to watch a solar eclipse

Content: What is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the earth. The moon causes the light of the sun to be blocked from reaching earth, casting a shadow on earth. A total solar eclipse is when the moon completely blocks the sun. The sun’s outer atmosphere (called the solar corona) glows around the moon when it is blocking the sun. A partial solar eclipse is when the moon only blocks part of the sun. Viewing a partial solar eclipse can expose your eye to the sun’s rays causing damage to the eye. How can your eyes be affected by a solar eclipse? Exposing your eyes to the sun without proper eye protection during a solar eclipse can cause “eclipse blindness” or retinal burns, also known as solar retinopathy. This exposure to the light can cause damage or even destroy cells in the retina (the back of the eye) that transmit what you see to the brain.