MONTOURSVILLE -- If you haven't figured it out yourself, someone's probably told you before: don't look directly into the sun.
"If you don't have suitable eye protection, you run the risk of ruining the retinas in your eye,”
On August 21, millions of people across the country will be looking up to the sky during a partial solar eclipse. When they do, professor Richard Erickson hopes they'll be wearing the proper eye protection.
"You hold it up to your eyes like this and of course it looks completely black unless you're looking at something very bright like the sun and then you can see it through it," said Erickson.
An astronomy professor at Lycoming College, Erickson tells Newswatch 16 at its peak, here in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, the sun will roughly 75 percent covered by the moon.
"That may make it easier for people to try and look at it but the exposed part of the sun that's not covered by the moon, it's as bright as ever and that's what can cover the retina,"
What you shouldn't do is try to look directly into the sun without any protection or just sunglasses. The glasses are made to look directly into the sun it's something you shouldn't normally do,"
Lowes stores across the country have teamed up with the American Astronomical Society where the glasses are selling fast.
"I can't believe it that there are that many people interested in them but hey when is it going to happen again,” said Hertz.
What does it look like when you put a pair of these on? Gloria Hertz was kind enough to give them a try.
"Oh, my gosh! Everything is black! I don't see a thing. I thought maybe I could see the lights or something. I bet I look really weird, don't I? " asked Wertz.
You can also find eye protection for the solar eclipse online.