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I have a pair of Solar Viewing Eclipse Shades that say "Safe for Direct Solar Viewing" and would like to know if my eyes would be harmed if I looked at the sun everyday for about a minute wearing them.

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That's really a question for the manufacturer. Without knowing the exact specifications it is impossible to say. If they are really safe for viewing then they should block all ultraviolet and be no danger unless the sun looks too bright in them. They should probably only be worn when looking directly at the sun though, if you keep them on when not looking at the sun then your pupils will dilate and let in more light when you first start looking at the sun. – Jason Goemaat Feb 13 '14 at 22:29
@JasonGoemaat Thanks for your comment! I will send the manufacturer this question. – zerosofthezeta Feb 13 '14 at 22:47
It's always a risk to look directly to the sun, even if the glasses absorb uv. If something goes wrong, you're looking to the sun in an unprotected way. Hence it's always urgently recommended to use a projector instead, and to look to the projected image of the sun. There exist Hydrogen-alpha filters designed particularly for direct observation of the sun with telescopes. Not free of risk, nevertheless. – Gerald Feb 14 '14 at 12:19
If you need to do this every day, why not do it right and get a welding helmet? – Marc Feb 14 '14 at 22:29
How about selecting an answer from those provided, and ticking it? – Jeremy Apr 1 '14 at 21:29

2 Answers 2

It depends on the quality of glasses and intensity, nature and degree of harmfulness of sunrays which you are watching to. Every eclipse has different intensity so as it can harm you.

When there was a solar eclipse around 3-4 years ago, it was a full solar eclipse. That time I watched it from my school with total naked eyes. My eyes were not harmed from that, but my school principle did.

But I still recommend you to not to watch it directly, use projectors which would allow you to get the view without directly watching the sun. Only use original products which are being certified.

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Assuming that the glasses are safe for direct viewing of the sun as claimed, and assuming you don't damage them, then yes, they should be safe for viewing the sun daily in the manner you suggest. There would not be an accumulative harm effect.

Again, assuming the glasses are safe for direct viewing, you'll probably be at more risk for the rest of the day when you are walking around with naked eyes.

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