How you can stay safe during the 2024 total solar eclipse

The president of the New Brunswick Association of Optometrists is warning people to stay safe during the total solar eclipse on April 8.

“It’s an amazing opportunity and experience for us New Brunswickers to have this, but we need to make sure that we have knowledge and we’re well-educated to be safe,” Dr. Alexis Keeling said.

According to Keeling, the sun isn’t any stronger during the eclipse than usual, but even on normal days the sun’s rays can damage a part of eyes called the macula.

That includes potentially permanent blindness.

“The macula does not have any pain receptors, so people don’t know they’re doing damage and causing potential blindness when they’re looking at the sun,” she said.

The damage takes about 24 to 48 hours to take effect, meaning people might not know they’ve gone blind until days after the eclipse.

Protective glasses

There are certified eclipse glasses that protect eyes from the sun’s rays. They’re different from sunglasses — Keeling said they’re about 200 times stronger and darker.

The Canadian Association of Optometrists has more information about safety on its website.

Keeling said eclipse glasses should have an ISO number — an international safety standard — of 12312-2.

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Fredericton resident Gilles Grondin said he remembers watching a solar eclipse about six decades ago as a teenager. At that time, they used welding shields to protect their eyes. This time he said he plans to view the eclipse with special lenses.

“We’re going to watch it with my family, my daughter and grandkids, my own little family,” he said.

While people need to be cautious, Keeling said babies and pets are less likely to look into the sun and damage their eyes.

“There’s an innate natural instinct that all humans, animals have, we don’t look at the sun,” she said.

“Most of our pets probably won’t know or probably won’t realize what’s going on,” said veterinarian Nicole Jewett, the registrar for the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association.

She said pets may be a bit confused by the sudden darkness, but said the best thing to do is keep routines the same.

And Keeling had one more piece of advice.

“Have fun, get outside, and let’s hope it’s not cloudy,” she said.