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I had a lot of fun using crayons to draw on the doodles seen in the guest book <:] plus I used a ripped paper shopping bag for Howdy’s background !

Howdy! On April 20th, there will be a TOTAL eclipse worldwide! As cool as it may seem the risks of looking at the eclipse directly WITHOUT protection are extremely high so here is some information and tips to stay safe! But first of all, what are the actual consequences to exposing your eyes to a total eclipse?

The consequences are retinal burns, also known as “eclipse blindness” or solar retinopathy. The symptoms include the loss of central vision, distorted vision or altered colour vision, and can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for symptoms to begin to show. There’s a chance it would only be temporary, but there’s also an equal chance of it being permanent, so… I wouldn’t be taking that chance if I were you.

1. Don’t look at the sun. Seriously.

It’s easier said than done, honestly. There are plenty of moments where you could accidentally glance at the sun, or when your eyes can be in direct sunlight, such as opening blinds or windows, driving, and just being outside in general is EXTREMELY risky. This also leads onto point 2;

2. Phone cameras, sunglasses, binoculars, and other types of unfiltered glasses will NOT protect your eyes.

Trust me, the temptation to whip out your phone camera and try to watch the eclipse through there is strong. But other then potentially damaging your phone camera, and the lens not being able to get a good picture of the eclipse at all, you could accidentally fry your eyeballs, so your best bet is watching it online or getting proper eclipse viewing glasses. Personally I’d rather just close my curtains, maybe watch it online and just wait the eclipse out, but if you really want to see the eclipse, proceed with caution and follow the rules below when choosing the safest eclipse viewing glasses.

3. How to choose the safest eclipse viewing glasses.

Find a trusted and official seller. So that’s a ‘no’ on the 2 dollar store glasses…

Make sure they meet general safety requirements and are manufactured to the ISO 12312-2 standard. Check around for labelling and make sure you’re buying them from a reputable source.

Wear your solar eclipse glasses at ALL TIMES.

Another note, solar eclipse glasses can get damaged. So before use, make sure the lenses aren’t scratched or torn, because if they are, they’re not safe to use.

Conclusion

That’s about it for the PSA. Make sure to stay safe, and if you or anybody you know have been exposed to the solar eclipse light and are experiencing any of the symptoms listed take them to a healthcare facility to get it checked out. Seriously, loss of vision is horrifying and you need to take preventative steps to avoid it.

GATOS !!