'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
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
DEVELOPING Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar
Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza, prompting Israel to say it would send a delegation to negotiate – though it warned the proposal remained far from the 'necessary requirements.'
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to quash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Manitoba Court of Appeal dismisses Peter Nygard's appeal of extradition order
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has dismissed Peter Nygard's application for a judicial review of an order to extradite the former fashion mogul to the United States, where he faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer's disease
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
B.C. court date set for 3 accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three suspects accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year are scheduled to appear in court in Surrey on Tuesday.