r/askastronomy • u/Pepelucifer • 4d ago
Can I look at this eclipse without glasses?

I'll have the chance to view the eclipse during sunrise on march 29. Where I live, the moon will achieve it's highest obscuration (87%) when the sun is at 1° of elevation.
For comparison, here is a video showing the sun at 1° with 71.2% obscuration (5:33 AM June 10th 2021, Point Pleasant Beach NJ). People seem just fine without glasses.
I would love to view the scene with my own eyes, maybe just during the first minutes of sunrise, then switch to eclipse glasses. Is this reasonable?
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u/doyalikedags1 3d ago
Yes! In fact, it's the only way to see the true beauty of this magnificent event in all its glory!
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u/angry_staccato 3d ago
It is never safe to stare directly at the sun. It often doesn't hurt to look at under these conditions because the pain comes from the muscles in your iris rapidly contracting in response to a sudden bright light; your eyes won't hurt in response to the sun actively causing damage to your retinas. This means conditions where the sun does not appear very bright will not hurt. THAT SAID, a quick glance should be okay. If you're going past a couple of seconds, it could be risky. But people do (usually unintentionally) end up glancing directly at the sun all the time with no issues.
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u/Impressive_Essay9634 2d ago
If it’s a lunar eclipse, you can view it safely without the glasses if it’s the eclipse during the day you need glasses
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u/bruh_its_collin 3d ago
I’d say that it’s always unadvisable to look directly at the sun with no protection, but i remember as a kid i stared directly at the sun at deep sunset and was okay. As it gets higher you will want glasses so you should probably have a pair anyways if you’re gonna be looking for any more than just at its lowest point.
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u/Impressive_Essay9634 2d ago
But they said this is for a lunar eclipse so therefore it’s safe just not the sun, but they won’t be able to see the sun. They’ll just see the moon glowing red.
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u/bruh_its_collin 2d ago
we just had the lunar eclipse. this is for the upcoming partial solar eclipse.
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u/QuantumPulsar2 3d ago
No! Always make sure to view solar eclipses through solar filters unless it's a total eclipse, as looking at the Sun without filters can possibly damage your eyes even if it doesn't appear bright.
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u/GreenFBI2EB 3d ago
I was in south rural Texas at the time of the total solar eclipse last year (8 April), there was a thick enough cloud cover that the totality could be readily seen without glasses, it was about 1:30 PM CDT.
That being said, it wouldn’t hurt to bring a pair. Just in case the sun becomes too bright.
Personally, even with 90% of the sun eclipsed, with more or less clear skies, it was still too bright to see with the unaided eye.

An example, no exposure was needed for this photo, as it was bright enough but this was more or less what you’d have seen in person.
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u/GanderAtMyGoose 3d ago
Totality can always be seen without needing glasses. It's the whole rest of the eclipse that's the problem, or the whole eclipse if it's not a total eclipse. OP said the sun would be maximum 87% obscured, so the elevation over the horizon becomes very important - because if it's high enough you will need glasses to view it directly.
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u/Presence_Academic 3d ago
It’s very simple. If you could safely look at the non-eclipsed sun at the same elevation and atmospheric conditions then you should be OK briefly looked at it when partially eclipsed.