Watch solar eclipse only with appropriate eye protection

First day of spring – and the sun will take a short rest. On 20 March parts of the sun will be hidden behind the moon in a partial solar eclipse. If you wish to follow this impressing natural phenomenon please do not rely on household items. Smoked glass, black film strips and CDs or similar items are not only inadequate to watch the sun, they are also dangerous for your eyes. Those who risk watching the sun without appropriate protection will jeopardize their eyesight.

If you wish to watch the sun directly, use only protective glasses or eclipse glasses that are expressly suitable for this purpose and have special filtration properties. No more than 0.001 percent of the sunlight must penetrate these glasses.

Please make sure of the following:

• The protective glasses are marked as safe for looking directly into the sun according to the relevant EU standards and are CE-labelled.
• User notes and warnings are attached.
• The protective eyewear is intact. Make sure that eclipse glasses do not show any scratches, gaps or cracks in the area where the filter film and paper meet and are not damaged otherwise. Never use damaged glasses!
• Quality protective eyewear also has extra wide temples and fits well in order to minimize the amount of light that may hit the eye from the top and sides.

Please note: Sunglasses are not protective eyewear! Watching the sun through your binoculars, telescope or camera is also extremely dangerous.

Danger for your eyes

If your eyes are exposed to sunlight without protection, the light will hit the retina with a high amount of energy. Even a short glance into the sun can damage the retina severely and lead to decreasing eyesight or even blindness. Your body will not warn you because retina damage does not cause any pain. Once you find your retina is damaged it will be too late.

Solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth and the moon fully or partially blocks the sun. The moon will cover 82 percent of the sun in the North of Germany (Flensburg) and 68 percent of the sun in the South of Germany (Munich). Depending on the region the highest percentage of cover will be reached around 10.37 a.m. (Bonn) and 10.47 a.m. (Berlin).

UV prognosis starting in April

By the way: The sun gains strength in spring so that the risk of sunburn increases, too. That is why BfS will again offer a UV prognosis for the weekends starting in April. These data can help you decide how much sun protection will be necessary for your leisure activities on the weekend.

Everyone can subscribe to this service via the following link: uv-prognose-subscribe@mailman.bfs.de – all you need is an email address. Subscribers will receive an email indicating the UV values to the expected for the weekend every Friday before 11.00 a.m.

You will find tips for adequate sun protection at www.bfs.de/sonne-aber-sicher.