Astronomers have warned people never to look directly at the sun during a partial eclipse.
Even when most of the star is covered, the visible section remains bright enough to cause damage to the eye.
“The problem is that our retinas don’t have pain receptors, so you won’t know that you’re damaging your eyes” Nežič added.
Instead, viewers should use certified eclipse glasses for naked eye viewing, but not while looking through binoculars or a telescope.
Further information can be found here.
People can also watch safely by projecting an image of the sun onto a white card using a telescope, a cereal box pinhole viewer, or even a kitchen colander.
Astronomers have also advised against pointing an unfiltered smartphone or digital camera directly at the sun because the intense light could damage the camera sensor.
“The only thing you can look at with the naked eye is a total solar eclipse and there hasn’t been one of those on Irish soil since 1724, and there won’t be another one visible until September 2090” added Astronomy Ireland’s David Moore.
