A UK doctor has warned that looking at the sun for as little as two seconds during the solar eclipse could damage your eyes forever. Dr Azeem Majeed, a GP for over 30 years and professor of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, issued the warning ahead of the long-anticipated solar eclipse occurring later tonight.
Even a few seconds can cause serious damage
Dr Majeed told the Express: "The key thing is not to look directly at the sun with unprotected eyes, because even a few seconds of looking at the sun directly can cause quite serious eye damage." He explained that the sun's rays have the power to damage the retina at the back of the eye, leading to visual problems.
He said: "Each time there's an eclipse, sometimes people do have that problem, whether it's in the UK or elsewhere, people will look at the sun directly and not realise actually that the sun's rays are very powerful and will damage the retina. Unfortunately if the retina is damaged you can't really correct that. That's often not well understood by people."
Partial eclipse still dangerous
Some people might think that looking at the eclipse is different than looking at the sun directly because it is almost fully covered by the moon. But Dr Majeed said because in the UK there is only a partial eclipse, "even that 10-20% is enough to cause damage".
He said: "In theory, if there's a total eclipse, you could potentially look at it, but here we're not seeing a total eclipse, and even then [we'd need to] be very careful, because the total eclipse is only for a short period, and then the sun will emerge from behind the moon."
Safe viewing methods
Looking at the eclipse requires using special glasses with EN ISO 12312-2:2015 – the European safety standard for eye and face protection during direct solar observation. In case you did not manage to buy your own pair, there is a simple trick that allows for looking at the phenomenon safely.
Eye specialist David Jones, consultant ophthalmologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, explained online his favourite way of viewing an eclipse is using a colander. He demonstrated how to do so by holding a blank piece of paper behind the colander he is holding up. Jones said: "If you hold the colander to the sun and you look away from the sun, protecting your eyes, you can make not just one picture of the sun but a hundred all at once."
The UK's most dramatic partial solar eclipse in nearly three decades will be visible between 6pm and 8pm, dependant on the area you live.
