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VOL. 41 | NO. 32 | Friday, August 11, 2017
How to safely view the eclipse
As thousands of consumers make plans to view the eclipse, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance’s Division of Consumer Affairs reminds people to follow the NASA guidelines to safely view the solar eclipse, through a pair of the ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses:
Do not use homemade filters or substitute with ordinary sunglasses – not even very dark ones – because they are not safe for looking directly at the sun.
Always inspect your solar filter before use; if scratched or damaged, discard it. Read and follow any instructions printed on or packaged with the filter. Always supervise children using solar filters.
Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer before looking up at the bright sun.
After glancing at the sun, turn away and remove your filter – do not remove it while looking at the sun.
Do not look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars or other optical device.
Similarly, do not look at the sun through a camera, a telescope, binoculars or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or hand-held solar viewer – the concentrated solar rays will damage the filter and enter your eye(s), causing serious injury. Seek expert advice from an astronomer before using a solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars or any other optical device.
If you are within the path of totality, remove your solar filter only when the moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets quite dark.
Experience totality, then, as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear, replace your solar viewer to glance at the remaining partial phases.
Source: TDCI