Eclipse glasses are a must, but expert says limit your look at solar event

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Anyone who has ever had a mother at some point in their life has been lectured about never looking directly into the sun.

Excitement over the upcoming eclipse seems to have drowned out Mom’s voice in the back of people’s heads, but her words of wisdom should be heeded, particularly when so many are being seemingly encouraged to lift their eyes to the Heavens.

Watching the eclipse should only be done with the certified eclipse glasses that have become hot items wherever they are available. Experts also warn to make certain they are certified because there are knockoffs everywhere that don’t offer proper protection.

Even those with appropriate spectacles still shouldn’t overdo it, according to Mike Kistner at the National Weather Service in Charleston.

“Even with that, you don’t want to be staring at it for a prolonged period of time,” Kistner warned on Friday’s edition of MetroNews Talkline. “You can glance up at it for ten seconds, or maybe up to a minute; however, I wouldn’t suggest people watch the whole eclipse and stare at it the whole time.”

The danger is the rays — particularly ultraviolet rays — that the protective eyewear will not block.

“It blocks a lot of the visible light, but there are many other wavelengths which come from the sun,” he explained. “U-V rays for instance will actually come through and you don’t feel the pain, but it will basically burn the inside of your eyeballs and you won’t be able to see to well in the latter part of your life.”

The danger is especially pronounced among children who may not realize the danger. Parents or adults supervising the eclipse are encouraged to educate children about the hazards and restrain them from looking for too long, even with approved eyewear.

Officials say an acceptable substitute for the eclipse glasses are welding goggles, but even those need to be “shade 12” or stronger for protection.

West Virginia lies in the path of a near total eclipse with the state’s exposure depending on location anywhere from 85 to 95 percent at the height of the event.   The wildcard for those hoping to see the rare occurrence will be cloud cover.

“Right now, I would say outside of the mountains it should be pretty much all right,” Kistner said. “We’re looking at max daytime heating creating just a few cumulus pop-up clouds, but we expect them to be very few in coverage.”

It’s not anticipated the skies will be overcast or gray, which will aid the effort to see the event, but Kistner added the West Virginia mountains stand the greatest chance of being blocked from the eclipse by low hanging cloud cover on Monday.

The total running time of the eclipse is expected to be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.





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