How to watch the eclipse without damaging your eyes
Looking at even a thin crescent of the Sun can burn the retina, and it does not hurt while it happens. The rule is simple: eclipse glasses on for every moment the Sun is not completely covered.
The only safe moment without glasses
You may look at the eclipse with the naked eye only during totality, after the last bright bead of sunlight disappears and before it returns. Every town page on this site lists these two moments to the second. If you are outside the path of totality, there is no safe moment without protection at any point of the eclipse.
Choosing eclipse glasses
- They must conform to the international standard ISO 12312-2. In the European Union they must also carry the CE mark.
- Buy from a manufacturer or seller listed by the American Astronomical Society, which keeps a public list of vetted suppliers.
- Genuine glasses show the manufacturer’s name and address. A printed ISO logo on its own proves nothing, because fake glasses copied it in 2017 and 2024.
- Through real eclipse glasses you can see nothing except the Sun or a very bright light. If you can see ordinary lamps or the room around you, do not use them.
- Throw away any pair that is scratched, creased, punctured or detached from its frame. Undamaged certified glasses do not expire, so a good pair from 2024 or 2026 can be reused.
What is not safe
- Ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, and polarising filters.
- Smoked glass, exposed film, CDs and homemade filters.
- Most welding helmets. Only welding glass of shade 14 or darker is safe for viewing the Sun, and typical helmets are lighter than that.
- Binoculars, telescopes and camera viewfinders without a proper solar filter on the front. They concentrate sunlight and can cause instant damage, even if you are wearing eclipse glasses.
Children
Children should be supervised at all times, with glasses that fit snugly. For young children a pinhole projector is a good alternative: it shows the eclipse as an image on paper or the ground, and nobody looks at the Sun at all.
If your eyes hurt after the eclipse
Pain is not the typical sign of eclipse damage. Solar retinopathy usually appears hours after exposure as blurred vision, a blind or distorted spot in the centre of vision, or colours that look wrong. If you notice any of these, see an ophthalmologist or an emergency eye service as soon as possible and tell them you watched the eclipse.