(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Those who are planning to look at the upcoming solar eclipse from anywhere in the Chicago-area need to be very careful and take precautions, according to a local astronomy expert.
Although the Chicago-area will not experience a total eclipse, the moon will cover about 94% of the sun when the eclipse peaks here shortly after 2 p.m. on April 8.
Michelle Nichols, the director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium, said even with 94% of the sun covered, looking at it directly can permanently damage your eyes.
While there are special glasses that allow people to look at the sun safely, Nichols urged people to make sure the glasses are genuine.
“I definitely implore people to do that, because we now know there are fakes that are being sold that are going to be dangerous,” she said. “Because they are no better than sunglasses, and the American Astronomical Society has noted … the now-proliferation of fake solar glasses. These are actually dangerous.”
Nichols said another way to watch the eclipse safely is to poke a pinhole in a piece of cardboard, paper or foil and use that to project an image of the Sun to the ground.
You can find a link to more information from the Adler Planetarium here.
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