Myths and truths about the 2017 solar eclipse

If there is one major thing that Phil Plait wants you to know about the 2017 solar eclipse, it’s this: Don’t look at it.

“Even though the moon blocks most of the sunlight up until the moment of totality, there is still enough light to damage your eye,” Plait told Seattle’s Morning News. “So don’t look at the sun up until totality – until the moon completely blocks the sun.”

RELATED: Where to watch the eclipse in Washington

Plait is known as the Bad Astronomer (emphasis on those first two letters of Astronomer). When the sun is entirely blocked — known as totality — then you can look at the eclipse. Even then, Plait says there is a myth that people cannot look at the event when it is in totality.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions floating around about this,” he said. “Basically, at any time, any day, the sun is bright enough to damage your eyes if you look at it. During an eclipse, though, people tend to look at the sun more. During the day you don’t usually look at it. It’s too bright, and you squint and your eyes water up.

People can wear protective glasses to watch the moon as it moves in front of the sun, but Plait has a warning there as well.

“Be careful because there are people out there selling fake eclipse glasses that do not block enough sunlight or the right kind of sunlight and can damage your eyes,” he said.

It’s important to note that in Washington state, there will be no total eclipse, only a partial eclipse. So eye protection will be needed throughout the event.

“The sun is very bright and it turns out that even blocking most of it, you don’t see much of a change,” Plait said. “It just gets a little bit darker, and you are used to that during the day anyway if a cloud goes in front of the sun.”

2017 Eclipse tips

The event on Aug. 21 within the 10 a.m. hour (depending on where you are) will be the first total eclipse seen in America since 1979. The full shadow will fall from the Oregon coast to South Carolina.

• While the moon will block the sun for most of North America, it will only totally block the sun through part of Oregon.
• Washington will only see a partial eclipse, so eye protection is needed. Check NASA’s website for tips on proper eye protection. The Seattle area will get about 92 percent coverage.
• Beware: There are fake eclipse glasses being sold.
• You can look at the full eclipse with binoculars or a telescope — we’ll say again full eclipse; during totality — but be careful. Once any sliver of sunlight appears, it can be magnified through those devices.
• During a full eclipse, it is dark enough to see stars and even a couple planets such as Jupiter and Venus.
• Only the corona (the sun’s atmosphere) is visible during a full eclipse. This is about as bright as the moon in the night sky.
• Many are traveling to Oregon to get the full eclipse view. So if you are planning on driving far enough to get into the full shadow, be aware that others have the same idea and roads could be clogged. Roads into Oregon were already becoming jammed on Thursday with travelers trying to get into the path of the shadow on Monday. Gas stations were even running out of gas.

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