Five Guidelines for Safe Solar Eclipse Viewing
Mandi Conway, MD, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, shared some best practices for safely viewing a solar eclipse.
Five Guidelines
- No Homemade Filters: Never use improvised or homemade filters when observing a solar eclipse. Only use approved solar viewing glasses or handheld solar viewers with ISO 12312-2 compliant filters to ensure adequate eye protection.
- Inspect Your Filters: Before use, carefully examine your solar filter or eclipse glasses. Any scratches or damages should be a red flag, indicating that the protection may be compromised.
- Follow Instructions: Read and adhere to the instructions accompanying your solar filter or glasses. It’s essential to ensure correct usage, especially when helping children with handheld solar viewers.
- Cover Before Looking: Stand still and cover your eyes with the solar filter or viewer before directing your gaze at the sun. Afterward, turn away and remove the filter — never remove it while looking at the sun.
- Avoid Optical Devices: Never use cameras, telescopes, binoculars or similar devices without a proper solar filter. This caution extends to wearing eclipse glasses or holding a solar viewer simultaneously. The intense solar rays can damage both the filter and your eyes.
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Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
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