Solar eclipse. Should you be afraid?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Tomorrow, on August 1, the most spectacular natural phenomenon - a solar eclipse - will be observed in most of the territory of Russia. Should I be afraid of him? The main thing, according to doctors, is to look at the sun only with special glasses that do not allow ultraviolet light to pass through.

“This is a rare and short-term occurrence. There is no particular negative impact from solar eclipses. There is no objective information that they are increasing the number of strokes and heart attacks,”said Chief Sanitary Doctor Gennady Onishchenko in an interview with Interfax. “What really affects health is cigarettes, alcohol and other bad habits. It's worth thinking about it,”he added.

This year, residents of three Siberian cities will be lucky. In Nizhnevartovsk, Barnaul and Novosibirsk, the eclipse of the sun will be total. In Moscow, the beginning of the eclipse will begin at about one in the afternoon, and its culmination is expected at about two in the afternoon. In Nizhnevartovsk, the moon's shadow will completely cover the Sun at 14.31 Moscow time, in Novosibirsk - at 14.45 Moscow time, residents of Barnaul will be able to see this phenomenon at 14.48 Moscow time.

Unlike a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse is not safe for the eyes. According to doctors, ultraviolet light can cause eye burns, the consequences of which can be irreversible.

The eclipse is especially dangerous for people after 50 years. Also on this day it is not recommended to look at the sun for people who often work at a computer, light-eyed and suffering from eye diseases.

Danger to eyesight is, perhaps, the most serious harm to health that a solar eclipse can cause. According to Vladimir Kuznetsov, director of the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation, a solar eclipse poses no danger to people.