Solar Eclipse: Viewers Can Suffer Severe Eye Injuries Without Proper Protection, NASA Warns

With a total solar eclipse now just a week away, officials are warning that eye safety will be crucial for the approximately 44 million Americans who reside in the path of totality and the millions more expected to travel to the path.

Employees and visitors at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stopped to watch the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
Photo Credit: *NASA/Josh Krohn*

The eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean.
Photo Credit: *NASA/Goddard Flight Space Center*

Joe Lombardi

04/02/2024 5:30 a.m.

"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," according to NASA.

Known as the “Great North American Eclipse,” it will have a narrow path of totality from southwest to northeast across 13 states in the middle of the afternoon on Monday, April 8, crossing North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada, after beginning over the South Pacific Ocean.

Earlier report - Total Solar Eclipse: FAA Warns Travelers Of Disruptions

According to NASA: "When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses ('eclipse glasses') or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. You can also use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector."

For more information on eye safety during the eclipse, check this page from NASA.

For precise viewing times in the path of totality, click on the second image above.

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