Residents buzzing with excitement as eclipse day nears
ST. LOUIS – There is less than a week until solar eclipse day, and residents around St. Louis are busy preparing for the event.
“Yeah, I am excited about it,” Carson Cornett said. He remembers the eclipse from seven years ago.
“It was fun to watch. I happened to be driving around like, ‘Oh! It’s happening now!’ (I) put the glasses on (and) pulled over. Everybody stopped and it was fun to do, and fun to watch,” Cornett said.
The 2024 total solar eclipse is predicted to last twice as long compared to the 2017 eclipse depending on the location of the observer.
“I am very excited about it. I was able to see the last one, I was very amazed with how cool it was. It got dark, the birds stopped singing and it was just unbelievable,” Allen Brown said.
Your map of the eclipse path of totality is wrong, experts say
However, optometrists have concerns for those viewing the once-in-a-lifetime event.
“The biggest concern with staring at the sun is something called solar retinopathy, which is damage to the retina. Most of the time, that damage is irreversible,” Dr. Nick Castellano, optometrist at Koetting Eye Center, said.
A particular type of eyewear is needed to view the eclipse safely.
“The ISO standard of what you’re looking for is ISO 12312-2. You can find those at a lot of stores right now. You want to make sure you are steering away from online purchasing (or) from stores that may be getting products from third-party retailers,” Dr. Castellano said.
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