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It has been known for a long time that It is not healthy to look directly at a solar eclipse. It is said that Socrates himself I already recommended looking at it reflected in the waterbut never directly. However, human beings have a fairly significant tendency to ignore scientific recommendations. This is possibly the reason why in 2024, after an eclipse in the United States, Google searches for the phrase “my eyes hurt” had a very abrupt peak. The time and place coincide. That peak of searches took place on April 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Just at that moment a solar eclipse was occurring whose strip of totality crossed from Mexico to Canada, passing through the United States. The states where the most searches were carried out were Vermont, Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, all of them immersed in the path of the eclipse. Eclipse retinopathy. When looking directly into sunlight, the retina can suffer serious damage. The condition that occurs is known as eclipse retinopathy and causes symptoms such as photosensitivity, blurred vision and headache. Vision can be affected for months or even permanently in the most severe cases. For this reason, no matter how much it may seem like the sun is covered, we must look at it with adequate protection. No sunglasses or x-rays. We have all heard at some point that it is safe to look at an eclipse through an x-ray or a photo negative. However, this is a myth that can be very dangerous. Sunglasses are not safe either. Generally, These are prepared to filter approximately 99.9% of solar ultraviolet radiation.. However, in the event of an eclipse, in which we look directly at the sun, this protection is needed, added to a filter of 99.999% of visible sunlight. It is necessary to use special eclipse glasses, always with filters approved by the competent authorities. Be careful with binoculars and telescopes. We should also not look directly through telescopes or binoculars without using filters. These are placed outside the lens and protect our retinas from solar radiation when we look through them. If none of this seems right to us, we can always resort to a pinhole camera, which reflects the image of the eclipse on another surface. Something like what Socrates advised about looking at the reflection in the water. It is important to use approved glasses You shouldn’t even look at a total eclipse. When the eclipse is total, the Sun is completely obscured. At that point, we might feel safe without protection. The problem is that it is not easy to calculate the exact moment in which the eclipse will begin to dissolve and with just a little bit of light, just when the Sun begins to reappear, we can damage our retinas. It is important to use protection from the beginning. It wasn’t eclipse retinopathy. In reality, the symptoms of eclipse retinopathy They usually appear several hours after the event. Interestingly, eye pain is not one of these symptoms. Therefore, what all those people were looking for was due to another reason. When we look at the sun, we usually experience a blink reflex that forces us to look away. However, with a solar eclipse the brightness is dimmed enough for this reflection to disappear. As a consequence, we can comfortably look at the Sun and keep our eyes fixed, without blinking. That’s what can make our eyes hurt or feel a burning sensation. Specifically, that is not dangerous. Still, those Google searches show that many people were worried. Many of them may not have used protection and regretted it. Ready for August. Next August 12 we will have the first of the eclipses that make up the Iberian Trio. Many people have already bought tickets to travel to some of the points in the totality zone. There are even those who have gotten tickets for one of the many festivals that will be celebrated for this reason. Whatever plan we choose, the important thing is protection. Maybe, even if we protect ourselves, there will be a peak in Google searches, but it better be because we don’t blink for a while and not because we have really damaged our retinas. Image | Magnific/NASA | POT In Xataka | The trio of eclipses that await Spain on the horizon: an unprecedented and historic chain between 2026 and 2028