CLEVELAND — We’re just days from the April 8 solar eclipse as a portion of Northeast Ohio sits within the path of totality, and health officials want to make sure you’re taking eye safety seriously during the epic skygazing event.
"I want to caution all Ohioans that it is never safe to look directly at the sun," said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff during a press conference Thursday morning.
He also warns that sunglasses, cameras, binoculars and telescopes are not safe eclipse eyewear. For those using eclipse safety glasses, it's important to make sure they meet the ISO 12312-2 standard.
Jeffrey Walline, OD, PhD, acting dean, Ohio State University College of Optometry, says not taking the proper precautions can cause permanent damage.
“The retina in the back of your eye cannot heal, so you can actually lose vision permanently," Walline added while also noting that "just a few brief looks at the sun can cause permanent damage to our vision.”
We streamed the entire press conference, which you can watch in the video below:
WHAT NASA SAYS ABOUT ECLIPSE GLASSES
“Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” NASA warns. “Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.”
NASA says that’s why you must use safe solar viewing glasses or handheld solar viewer.
“Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses,” NASA explains. “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 says to inspect your eclipse glasses before the eclipse. Anything found to be torn, scratched or damaged should not be used.
Here's what time the eclipse will happen in Cleveland:
- Partial eclipse begins: 1:59:22 p.m.
- Totality begins: 3:13:45 p.m.
- Maximum eclipse: 3:15:40 p.m.
- Totality ends: 3:17:35 p.m.
- Partial eclipse ends: 4:29 p.m.