COLORADO SPRINGS — "I got eclipse glasses, I am so excited, I have been counting down for this," said Jan Perry.
Perry is now ready to safely watch her first solar eclipse. I asked her to try them on.
"They don't look like anything, they're black, I didn't know that, I've never had them before."
An optometrist at Rockrimmon Vision Source, Dr. Gavin Walters, said solar eclipse glasses are specially made so you can look directly at the sun for a long time without damaging your eyes.
"Essentially if [the glasses are] not strong enough, you'll actually get damage to your retina, which if it's bad enough could be permanent," said Dr. Walters.
That's why you want glasses with an ISO stamp with code 12312-2. That means they meet the international safety standard.
Without them, looking at the eclipse can burn your eyes, causing vision loss.
"You can basically get almost like a little hole in your retina, you can think of a magnifying glass, focusing all that light," said Dr. Walters.
"I have seen three of them in my entire life," said an astronomer and UCCS professor, Sam Milazzo. "That's how rare, about every 20 years."
In Colorado, Milazzo said we will see the sun covered about 65%.
"Even though 65% of the sun is gone, it will fool your brain but it will still be enough to burn your retina," said Milazzo.
The Pikes Peak Library District has been giving out these glasses for free since March.
That's where Perry got hers.
Perry says she never had the right glasses before and never dared to look at a solar eclipse without them.
"You only got to do it once and then you're not going to see anything," said Perry. "I only have one set of eyes."
____
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
