Why do you have to wear glasses during a solar eclipse? Meteorologist Ray Petelin explains

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- By now, you have heard of the total solar eclipse that will occur on Monday, April 8, 2024.

My family and I were fortunate to see a solar eclipse on the beach during the summer of 2017.  They are very cool to see, even if you are not under the path of totality.  Seeing an eclipse, though, should be done with safety in mind.

First, you never want to look directly at the sun. This can cause permanent damage to your eyes. To be clear, "permanent" means looking at the sun without protection could result in lifelong vision problems. When viewing the sun or the eclipse, you need to protect your eyes with special glasses made specifically for viewing an eclipse!

Sunglasses are NOT sufficient to protect your eyes.  You will want to use solar eclipse viewing glasses. These shade out everything so you can only see the sun. As the eclipse occurs, you will be able to clearly see it in these glasses. You can even get a shade to protect your electronic equipment, and better see the eclipse. 

These can be found online, and are relatively inexpensive if you buy them early enough. The closer you get to the eclipse, the more expensive they get and the harder they become to find!  When you get these glasses, you want to make sure to get ones that are specifically rated to look at the sun.

According to NASA, safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker than sunglasses and should comply with the ISO 12312-2 International Standard. 

Your glasses should have an ISO marking on them, and an indication that they meet the standard. That is how you know it is safe. When looking online, NASA says it does not recommend or approve glasses. 

They just say the glasses should follow the ISO 12312-2 standard. Most welding glasses below shade 13 are not recommended either.

If you are under the path of totality, you can take your glasses off during the period of time where the Sun is completely blocked by the moon. In Pittsburgh, a total eclipse will not occur. We will only have around 97% of the sun blocked. It is a lot, but that is not enough to safely view the eclipse without glasses.  Erie, Pa. will have a total eclipse, though.

You should also inspect your glasses before using them. If there is a scratch or a tear on the glasses, their effectiveness drops.