'It’s not worth the risk': Optometrist stresses caution when viewing solar eclipse
Weeks away from the first total solar eclipse in Canada in 45 years, optometrists are urging the public to take the proper precautions.
The celestial event will take place April 8. In southern Ontario, experts say it will begin shortly after 2 p.m. and last for about two and a half hours, with peak coverage around 3:20 p.m.
In some areas, like Hamilton and Niagara Falls, the moon will fully block out the sun for more than a minute.
“It will get really dark over just a few seconds and it will be kind of like night time,” Roan Haggar with the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics told CTV News.
This will mark Canada’s first total solar eclipse since 1979, and the first to be seen in southern Ontario since 1925.
Brian Flatt, with Ottawa South Optometry in Kitchener, says spectators should only look directly at the eclipse if they’re wearing the proper eyewear capable of filtering high levels of sunlight.
“Your average sunglasses that you have at home, no matter how dark it is, is not safe for looking at the eclipse,” Flatt said.
Flatt says only solar eclipse glasses have the proper lenses to protect viewers from hurting their eyes. He says looking at the eclipse with the naked eye can cause irreparable long-term damage.
“It could leave you with blind spots, missing spots right in the center of your retina, which could really affect your vision to see details afterwards,” Flatt said. “Some of it may recover in the following weeks or months but some of it could be permanent.”
Eclipse glasses available to reserve for purchase at KW Telescope in Kitchener on March 19, 2024. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV Kitchener)
KW Telescope, a Kitchener astronomy shop, says it sold 1,000 solar eclipse glasses in just three days. Sales manager, Shannon Cameron, says the store has more glasses on the way, but customers should call ahead to reserve a pair before they sell out.
“We tried to scramble to get as many as we possible could,” Cameron told CTV News. “We’re able to get more, and now back to just taking reservations. I think we’ll have sold close to about 5,000 pairs [by April 8]."
If you don’t have solar eclipse glasses, a safe alternative is to build a pinhole projector to view the eclipse indirectly.
If you don’t have the proper eyewear or a safe alternative, optometrists suggest you avoid looking up at the eclipse all together.
“Don’t do it. It’s not worth the risk,” Flatt said. “There’s no way to know in the moment how much damage you’re doing.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Wildfire smoke drifts across Canada, over parts of U.S., prompting air quality advisories
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
'A great victory for the industry': Taxi drivers celebrate ruling that found City of Ottawa negligent in allowing Uber to operate
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of Ottawa was negligent in its enforcement of the city's taxi bylaw when it allowed Uber to begin operating in 2014, harming the city's established taxi industry.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
Steve Buscemi punched in the face while walking in N.Y.C.
Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi has been treated for injuries after being punched in the face while walking in New York City.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.