Department of
Health
NO SAFE WAY OF DIRECTLY VIEWING AN ECLIPSE
The Environmental Health Service of the Department of
Health endorses the following statements provided by The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists
(RANZCO).
Australia’s
medical eye specialists warn that there is no safe way of directly looking
at any eclipse of the sun.
Dr
Stephen McGovern, Spokesperson for the South Australia Branch of The Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) says:
People
should not look directly at any eclipse of the sun, with or without
sunglasses, welder’s masks, or any other device not specifically
designed to observe the sun.
These
do not provide protection from the risk of developing permanent damage
to the eyes.
Other
devices, such as binoculars and telescopes, also do not provide
protection.
People
may not be aware of damage occurring as the visual damage from viewing
an eclipse directly is not accompanied by pain. There are no pain
receptors on the retina inside the eye.
Apart from the lack of
pain, there may be no immediate indication that vision is being
affected, as the permanent effect of viewing the eclipse directly may
not be apparent until days or weeks later.
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S
A F E V I E W I N G
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The Environmental Health Service of the Department of Health
advises that there are, however, indirect
ways of observing an eclipse.
An
eclipse can be watched in complete safety by;
-
Watching
the event on the live webcast at www.csiro.au/eclipse/
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Watching
the event on closed circuit television
-
Projecting an image on to a piece of paper through a pinhole in a piece of card – while
looking away from the sun (see
how to make a safe solar eclipse projector - PDF 93k)
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DH
Warning
A
variety of solar eclipse viewing glasses are currently available. The Department of
Health does not endorse the use of
these solar viewers. People
who elect to use them do so at their own risk. There are no Australian Standards for eclipse viewers. People who do elect to use these types of viewers should ensure
that the filters are undamaged and fully cover the eyes during the
eclipse. Remember that children are most at risk of eye damage caused by the sun.
October
23, 2002
The
Solar Eclipse Teachers' Kit (PDF 93k) | CSIRO's
Teachers' Guide to the Solar Eclipse
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