Lolly is giving away ISO certified glasses at our Caledonia location while supplies last to watch the Solar Eclipse. Join us on Monday April 8th at 2:30pm for a BBQ and watch party.
On Monday, April 8th, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be taking place. This eclipse will be visible from Southern Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, with the rest of Canada having the partial eclipse visible. Depending on where you are located in Ontario, the solar eclipse is expected to take place approximately between 2:00 pm-4:30 pm EST.
What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely or partially covers the Sun.
Are there any risks in watching the solar eclipse?
Yes! It is never safe to look directly at the sun without eye protection and that remains true during an eclipse. Even though the moon ends up mostly covering the Sun, the Sun's radiation can still cause damage to the eyes. By directly looking at the solar eclipse, even a brief look, can cause harm to the eye's light-sensitive cells. Unfortunately this damage will not be felt until well after it is too late.
When the eclipse begins, the moon will slowly begin to cover the sun. This will occur gradually over a period of about an hour. Light levels during this period will remain fairly normal and if you didn’t know it was eclipse day, you likely would not notice anything out of the ordinary.
Then in a span of 15 minutes, the light will dim slightly as the moon mostly covers the sun and begins to move away again. This is the period that people are most tempted to directly view the eclipse. If you don’t have specialized eye protection that is specifically designed for eclipse viewing and is ISO 12312-2 certified, then you must not look directly at the eclipse.
It is not safe to directly view the eclipse using any of the following;
- Sunglasses, smoked glasses
- space blankets
- binoculars
- telescopes
- cameras, phone cameras,
- welding shields, auto-dimming welding helmets, etc.
Only ISO 12312-2 certified eye protection specifically designed for eclipse viewing is safe.
If you do not have ISO 12312-2 certified eye protection, DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE ECLIPSE.