Safety Measures to view Solar Eclipse.

[srij]

India will witness Partial Eclipse on 19th Mar. 2007 and one has to be very careful in viewing Partial Eclipse and strictly avoid the following unconventional and unscientific methods :

• Viewing Solar Eclipse with X-Ray Films is strictly NO NO
• Viewing Solar Eclipse with Smoked Glass is dangerous.
• Using Cheap Solar Filters is also risky, falling in the price band of Rs.5/- to Rs.10/-.

The best method to view Solar Eclipse are as follows :

• Certified Solar Filters ( SUNVIEW - Solar Filters )
• Welder's Glass
• Indirect Viewing ( by casting the shadow through Telescope )

Eclipse Lunacy

There's been such hysteria -- allbeit well-intentioned -- stirred up about eye damage, that many people are convinced that it is specifically solar eclipses that cause eye damage; that is, at any other time of year, looking at the Sun is OK. This is not true. Looking at the Sun at any time for more than a second or two can cause permanent eye damage.
Finally, I've heard some truly draft ideas for eclipse viewing, such as looking through a sheet of Perspex, or in a reflection in a bucket of water. I have no idea where these come from, but these are not safe! If you can see the Sun clearly and brightly, whether directly, in a reflection, or via Perspex, then it's dangerous.

NEVER attempt to look at the Sun through a telescope, camera, binoculars, fancy sun goggles

[krishnaprasad]

It has appeared in the columns of Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad - Page 3 on 17th Mar 2007, in the Article - Astrologers v/s Scientists, wherein a Society in Hyderabad - Planetary Society of India warned the public not to buy "goggles" to view Solar Eclipse. However the said Society has never spoken a word about X-Ray Film Viewing nor Smoked Glass viewing and has just mentioned about "goggles".

I happened to know Mr.N.Sri Raghunandan Kumar who is the General Secretary of the said society, and I remember when I was in Kendriya Vidyalaya School in Uppal, the same person came to us, and sold Eclipse Goggles in our School in Solar Eclipse 1999. Probably it is to attract Public Attention, by misguiding the Media.

[srij]

Scientific Communities and Societies receive public and media attention only during such Rare Astronomical Celestial Events, hence would like to take the best advantage of the situation, by giving irrational statements.

In fact, there hasn't been a single recorded case, wherein the Solar filter user has damaged his/her eye sight due to the usage of Solar filters while viewing the Solar Eclipse. Mr.Raghunandan Kumar might not be aware of the fact, that Galileo has lost his eyesight by viewing the Sun through the Telescope directly, and has not warned the public of the same. You are right, such publicity crazy societies should first give more importance to issue warnings of Direct Viewing (as in India, many still follow - "Surya Namaskar" in early mornings when Sun rises - and Eclipse this time - 2007 was undergoing at the same time - 6:30am onwards ), using of X-Ray Films, Negatives, Smoked Glass vieiwing which millions still follow in our Country. Elements of such societies either should be fully knowledgable, and gather all the facts, before issuing any statements in the media.

Anyway, we ourselves have been distributing Solar Filters, since the Solar Eclipse of 1994 ( 13 Yrs. ) and we have letters of Top Institutions of Twincities Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Public School, Little Flower High School, All Saints High School, Kendriya Vidyalaya and many more institutions, who had been distributing Solar filters to their Students, as and when Solar Eclipse occurs, without a single complaint.

[pavlik]

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