'It's Not Worth Taking a Chance.' Man Who Experienced Eye Damage During 1962 Solar Eclipse Warns Others

http://time.com/4906156/solar-eclipse-2017-eye-damage/

Jason Duaine Hahn / People
Aug 17, 2017

A man who damaged his eyes 55 years ago while looking at a partial solar eclipse is warning others about the risks of looking at the sun without protection.

In 1962, Lou Tomososki walked home from Marshall High School in Bend, Oregon, with his friend Roger Duval, when the two stopped to watch the partial eclipse occurring in the sky. While they only looked with their naked eyes for a few seconds, the damage the sun caused to Tomososki’s vision would stay with him for the rest of his life.

According to Today, Tomososki began to see flashes in his vision, similar to the spots that occur when a picture is taken with a flashbulb. Tomososki, now 70, has experienced vision problems since then, and he is warning those who want to enjoy the Great American Eclipse on August 21 to wear eye protection while looking at the celestial event.

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“When you partially obscure the sun with the moon, it’s not so bright, and it’s not so painful to actually look at it,” Dr. G. Baker Hubbard of the Emory Eye Center in Atlanta told FOX5. “But, even though it’s not painful, those harmful rays are still getting in your eyes and focused right onto the center of your retina, and that’s where it does the damage.”

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Be Smart: A Partial Eclipse Can Fry Your Naked Eyes

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/18/543745409/be-smart-a-partial-eclipse-can-fry-your-naked-eyes