So About You Going Blind If You Stare at a Solar Eclipse …

There are a few things we all know about solar eclipses, like don’t buy plants that day and definitely don’t look directly at it. But how true is that and what actually happens to your eyes if you stare up at the solar eclipse just for fun?

Well, you will have some sort of blindness, and none of it sounds very fun. According to School Health NY, staring directly into the beauty of a solar eclipse can definitely make your eyes suffer for it: “Exposing your eyes to the sun without proper eye protection during a solar eclipse can cause ‘eclipse blindness’ or retinal burns, also known as solar retinopathy. This exposure to the light can cause damage or even destroy cells in the retina (the back of the eye) that transmit what you see to the brain.”

According to that same site, this doesn’t necessarily stay around forever: “This damage can be temporary or permanent and occurs with no pain. It can take a few hours to a few days after viewing the solar eclipse to realize the damage that has occurred.” What doesn’t sound fun about it is that this … could just completely wreck your eyes and for what?

You can have altered color vision or distorted vision all because you didn’t want to use a box or eclipse glasses to protect yourself, and that’s just silly.

Just make a viewing box or eclipse glasses and protect yourself!

Part of the fun of an eclipse is the act of making a viewing box or glasses to use to see the eclipse! Without them, you can literally burn your eyes, so why would you do that when you can have a fun arts and crafts project instead?

There are plenty of things about the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8 that you can enjoy, like watching Little Shop of Horrors to celebrate it. (Remember, that’s how Audrey II came to earth!) But do so safely and protect your eyes because no one wants to burn their retina just to look up at the sky.

(featured image: Warner Bros.)