Why you should use special glasses to view an eclipse

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - It is a little under a month to the total solar eclipse and Kentuckians are preparing to view and see this once-in-a-lifetime wonder.

While many can’t wait to keep their eyes on the sky for the eclipse, local optometrists are encouraging folks to take the proper precautions so your memorable moment doesn’t become damaging.

Central Kentucky eyecare owner Randall Lambirth says folks need to be wary of risks associated with eclipse viewing.

“When you are staring directly at something, those rays are hitting the center part of the back of the eye called the macula, and if anything damages the macula, you could have permanent vision loss, and it’s going to be a blind spot that may never go away,” Lambirth said.

In order to safely watch the eclipse, you will need to look through special-purpose solar filters. Those are used in “eclipse glasses” or in hand-held solar viewers.

Lambirth said that most of the time, we don’t stare at the sun for too long because it hurts.

Regular sunglasses help block the wavelengths that cause pain, but they don’t block the ones that damage your eyes.

“Normally, you would develop a blind spot a couple of hours after. So if you get that, go see your eye doctor,” Lambirth said.

While sunglasses might be helpful for beautiful sunny days in the Bluegrass, they are not going to be so helpful when it comes to viewing the eclipse.

“Regular sunglasses, you are still getting at the best 10% of light coming through. Those solar eclipse glasses let around .001% in, so you want something very, very dark,” said Lambirth.

So make sure to have your eclipse glasses and solar filters ready by April 8 so you don’t miss the moment.

Proper eclipse glasses have the serial number on the inside reading iso 1-2-3-1-2-2. Glasses with that number are the only ones strong enough to keep your eyes safe for viewing.