You have fun watching the solar eclipse. I’ll be protecting my eyes | Opinion

A solar eclipse is an almost mystical experience for many people. When solar eclipses are announced, like Monday’s event, people get giddy, start looking for protective glasses and begin planning watch parties.

I get it. Most of us don’t know a lot about our solar system, and our place in it. An eclipse is the closest thing we get to a firsthand encounter with space.

For some, it can be a religious experience. Most experts believe an eclipse is mentioned in several places in the Bible, referring to the end of days, in the gospels of Matthew and Mark, in the Book of Acts and in the Book of the prophet Joel: “Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.”

It’s tempting to partake in the glee of an eclipse, but I didn’t, and won’t do it.

I wear glasses, and my eyesight is heavily corrected. I remember back in elementary school when I visited the eye doctor for the first time. He asked me to read the big letter at the top of the chart. I asked, “what letter?”

Yes, I’m a bit nearsighted. My vision is very important to me. Considering the fact that I read for a living, I’m going to do everything to protect it.

Which is why when Donald Trump looked at the eclipse with no eye protection in 2017, I shook my head.

Now, I’m not telling you what to do, but I also won’t look at it even with eye protection. Why?

Because not all eye protection is correct for watching an eclipse safely. And because I can’t tell which brands are good or not, I’m not taking a chance. NASA agrees.

Ordinary dark sunglasses, or homemade filters are not safe for looking at the sun, say the experts at NASA.

“Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun. Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and ought to comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard. NASA does not approve any particular brand of solar viewers.”

Let’s repeat that: “NASA does not approve any particular brand of solar viewers.” Consider that when you’re buying eclipse sunglasses online.

Several reports from reputable outlets explored the possibility of eye damage from viewing an eclipse.

Some people get solar retinopathy after looking at the sun, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It often clears up on its own, but “in rare cases, can cause blindness.”

JAMA Opthamology reported that an extreme case happened to a woman who stared at the 2017 eclipse. “Doctors found she had permanent damage, including a burn on her retina that closely resembled the crescent shape of a partial eclipse.”

No matter how rare that is, that’s too scary for me.

I have viewed an eclipse, watching the shadow on the ground or on a piece of paper or cardboard. No, that’s not as exciting, but it’s safer.

Listen, I’m not a killjoy and I’m all for a fun watch party, without the actual watching part.

Happy eclipse day, and on to the next one in 2044. I hope I’ll be around, a lot older, but still wise when it comes to my eyes.

This story was originally published April 8, 2024 at 10:47 AM with the headline "You have fun watching the solar eclipse. I’ll be protecting my eyes | Opinion."

Yvette Walker

Opinion Contributor,

The Kansas City Star

Yvette Walker is The Kansas City Star’s opinion editor and leads its editorial board. She has been a senior editor for five award-winning news outlets. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and was a college dean of journalism.