Eclipse fever is here! With Northeast Ohio’s first total solar eclipse in over 200 years coming up on April 8, it’s hard to miss all the hype around this once-in-a-lifetime event. Here are some tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of your eclipse experience and taking care of your eyesight.

Make sure you never look directly at the sun and use special eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers! These are available for purchase online, and some local businesses are selling them. We’ve gathered a few tips for you about these special eclipse glasses:

• When you have your official eclipse viewer of choice, only look at the eclipse through its special-purpose solar filter.
• All safe eclipse glasses should comply with ISO 12312-2 international standards. These standards are how you know your gear is safe to use.
• Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe to use while using the eclipse. Their lenses transmit too much sunlight and could damage the eyes.
• Before putting on your gear, inspect your solar filter. If the lenses are scratched or damaged, don’t use them.
• Follow any instructions your gear has.

If you’re unable to find eclipse glasses in time, there are various other science experiment-inspired ways to project the solar image in safe ways. Check out some ideas from Solar Eclipse Across America here. 

What should I know about viewing the eclipse?

• Make sure children are supervised while using their eclipse-viewing gear.
• Stand still, and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking at the sun.
• Afterward, turn away before removing your filter — never remove it while looking at the sun.
• The only time you can look at the eclipse without the specific eclipse gear is when the eclipse is in totality – when the moon completely covers the sun.
• People looking through their eclipse glasses or solar viewers will know the eclipse is at totality and safe to look when they can no longer see the sun at all through their gear. As soon as even a little bit of the sun reappears after totality, it’s time to put the eclipse glasses back on or use a handheld solar viewer to look at the sun.

CSC hopes everyone to has a fun experience on Cleveland’s eclipse day and takes the extra steps to protect their vision!