To witness the partial solar eclipse safely, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) shared some viewing dos and don’ts to protect your eyes while watching the astronomical event.
This Thursday, April 20, the partial solar eclipse begins at 11:44 a.m. and ends at 2:04 p.m. The maximum eclipse occurs at 12:55 p.m.
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Here are some pointers from PAGASA to view the event safely.
Avoid staring directly at the sun with naked eyes.
Resist the urge to use a standard telescope or binoculars without a solar filter to observe the sun.
Avoid using smoked glass or sunglasses when facing the sun.
Avoid using camera film or negatives.
Attempting to see the sun through foil or translucent candy wrappers is not advised.
Do not try to view the eclipse by reflecting the sun off a mirror, a CD (compact disk), or anybody of water, even in a pail of water.
Using binoculars or a telescope while wearing specialized solar glasses will cause the glasses to melt due to the heat from the concentrated sunlight.
Avoid using the solar filters that come with your telescope since the concentrated light may cause the eyepiece to break, allowing dangerous amounts of sunlight to enter and blind your eyes.
PAGASA advised the public to use safe viewing equipment, such as safe handheld solar viewer, when observing a partial solar eclipse.
“Be aware that eclipse glasses are not conventional sunglasses. Regular sunglasses, regardless of how dark they are, should not be used to observe the sun. The general public is urged to use the eclipse safety instruments like pinhole cameras or telescope projections as a precaution,” it explained.
PAGASA said it will also livestream the astronomical event through its official Facebook page.