Overview
- Health bodies and NASA renewed warnings on Wednesday that looking at the Sun during any partial phase can cause solar retinopathy in seconds.
- Doctors say retinal damage may be painless at first and can show hours later as blurred or distorted vision, new dark spots, or reduced colour perception, and they urge urgent care for symptoms.
- NASA and ophthalmologists advise using ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses for eyes and purpose-built solar filters fitted over camera lenses to protect equipment.
- Officials stress ordinary sunglasses and improvised filters are unsafe, and recommend indirect viewing methods, tripod-backed wide shots, or streaming the event as safer photo options.
- Coverage notes supply problems and counterfeit viewers have left many without certified glasses, and recalls the 1999 eclipse when at least 70 people suffered tracked eye injuries to underline the risk.