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Solar Eclipse Safety

Total Solar Eclipse phases. Composite Solar Eclipse.

Solar Eclipse Safety

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights – a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere – the corona – can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun’s disk.

How to View the Solar Eclipse Safely (NASA):

The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun; they transmit thousands of times too much sunlight. Eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers should to be compliant with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard for such products.

NASA Recommendations:

  • Always inspect your solar filter before use; if scratched or damaged, discard it. Read and follow any instructions printed on or packaged with the filter.
  • Always supervise children using solar filters.
  • Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun. After looking at the sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the sun.
  • Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or other optical device.
  • Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer — the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury.
  • Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device. Note that solar filters must be attached to the front of any telescope, binoculars, camera lens, or other optics.
  • If you are within the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark. Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to look at the remaining partial phases.
  • Outside the path of totality, you must always use a safe solar filter to view the sun directly.
  • If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse glasses on over them, or hold your handheld viewer in front of them.

An alternative method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed sun is pinhole projection. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other, creating a waffle pattern. With your back to the sun, look at your hands’ shadow on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the sun as a crescent during the partial phases of the eclipse. Or just look at the shadow of a leafy tree during the partial eclipse; you’ll see the ground dappled with crescent Suns projected by the tiny spaces between the leaves.

Healthcare Professionals:

It is expected that millions will travel to locations across the country to view the eclipse. Many of these locations are rural with limited healthcare infrastructure, and since these sites are not officially sponsored, the typical augmentation of resources that accompanies planned mass gatherings will not take place.

To address planning and response concerns and help local emergency healthcare providers plan for these gatherings, the ASPR TRACIE team collected fact sheets, checklists, locally-developed guidance documents, and news articles on eye safety, injury treatment, and planned mass gatherings in rural and urban areas in Solar Eclipses:  Planning Resources.  Resources in sections I – V are specific to the eclipse event; the rest of the sections include resources related to planned mass gatherings.

Some of the topics addressed in the Solar Eclipses:  Planning Resources include:

  • Eclipse Eye Safety
  • Eclipse Eye Injury Treatment
  • Federal Resources
  • Locally-Developed Resources (e.g., plans, tools, and templates)
  • News Articles
  • Education and Training
  • General Guidance: Planned Mass Gatherings
  • General Guidance: Rural Emergency Preparedness
  • Guidance: Helicopter Rescue
  • Lessons Learned: Rural Areas
  • Plans, Tools, and Templates
  • Plans, Tools, and Templates: Rural Areas
  • Surge Planning (from Urban to Rural Areas)

Have fun and be safe experiencing the solar eclipse on Monday!

Resources:

ASPR TRACIE – Solar Eclipses: Planning Resources

NASA Eclipse Resources


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