Who doesn’t love a beautiful diamond ring?? During the talk about the upcoming total solar eclipse, you might hear scientists mention a diamond ring, but they aren’t talking about their latest acquisition from the jeweler! They’re referring to a very important part of the eclipse that will be your cue as to when you can take your eclipse glasses off and when you need to put them back on.
Quite simply, you will need your full eye protection during EVERY part of the eclipse except for the couple of minutes during totality. If the sun is 99% covered where you are watching this event then you will need to keep your glasses on for the ENTIRE event – no exceptions. Your retina doesn’t have pain receivers, so you will sustain eye damage without realizing it if you take chances with this.
As the sun begins to disappear behind the moon, its crescent will get smaller and smaller. At the last moment before totality, one bright light will shine on one side of the sun. It’ll resemble a diamond ring. Once the “diamond” disappears, you can safely take your glasses off. AS SOON AS THE DIAMOND REAPPEARS, YOU WILL NEED TO IMMEDIATELY PUT YOUR GLASSES BACK ON.
If you “Carat” all, “Cut” your chances of eye damage by making sure you know when and when not to have your glasses on. With enough “Clarity” on safety, you’ll have “Color”ful stories to tell of this cool event with eyes that are just as good after as they were before.
