The Eclipse Almost Stole My Sight

by Marca

On Monday, April 8, 2024, North America witnessed a solar eclipse, and it almost blinded me. But before I talk about that, what is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, which blocks the Sun totally or partially and casts a shadow on part of the Earth. The cover image shows an example of the Moon completely covering the Sun. Below is a photo of the Sun being partially covered by the Moon (I took that one myself).

by me

To see a total solar eclipse, you have to be in the path of totality. The path of totality is the path the moon’s shadow takes as the Earth rotates. During that path, the Moon completely blocks all light from the Sun.

To safely observe an eclipse, it is advised to wear solar eclipse glasses that follow ISO 12312-2 Requirements. Here they are below:

Unfortunately, all the solar eclipse glasses near me were all sold out. And I mistakenly decided it wouldn’t be too bad if I looked at the Sun for 1 or 2 minutes. After I took my pictures and videos, I started to see black dots appear in my vision and my eyes started to hurt. As soon as that happened, I immediately closed my eyes and turned away from the Sun for a good 3-4 minutes. I thought I permanently damaged my eyes so I can look at the Sun for 2 minutes, but when I opened my eyes again the black dots went away and my eyes were no longer in pain.

If you love your eyes, then please don’t do what I did.