What's up with all this fear mongering over looking at a Solar Eclipse?

You'd think the way the popular press is talking about the eclipse, that an entirely different, drastically more powerful star magically appeared in our solar system every eclipse, and that this new star will fry your eyes the second you look at it.

Now I understand why you shouldn't look at an eclipse - your brains natural reflex to look away after over exposure to the sun doesn't kick in during a solar eclipse, and as a result, you could cook your eyes directly staring at a partial eclipse without even realizing it until it's too late - but the press is talking about the eclipse as if you even gave the eclipse a half a second glance, than your eyes will be totally fried.

I'd wager that at least some of you used to look at the sun directly as a youngin to see how long it would last before you look away. Sure, you wouldn't focus your vision directly on the sun, at least for nothing more than a second, but you were still able to give it a quick glance for a couple of seconds before looking away, with absolutely no eye damage (at least I did). Guess what? During the eclipse, it's the EXACT SAME SUN. As long as you're not a moron, and stare directly at the sun for 5+ seconds during the eclipse, you will be perfectly fine if you give it a quick glance.

Geez, you got people out here thinking the sun is Sodom and Gomorrah.

The real danger comes when viewing a total solar eclipse, because your pupils can so greatly dilate in pitch darkness, and the sun could come out of nowhere, that you will damage your eyes in a matter of a second

...okay?

The "Sky is falling" phrase comes to mind.

I looked at the eclipse today and now I am completely blind! Don't listen to the LIES this man has typed! I read every word of his post and he is clearly trying to blind everyone on Comicvine to give himself an advantage over us.

lmfao

It's all lies from the sunglasses industry. Open your eyes people.

I bet you touch wet paint too.

So you're saying it's ok to look at the sun?

The danger is the rays are still hitting you from the sun. You just dont feel the pain you would when the moon isnt blocking it. You can look at a solar eclipse for 5 seconds any longer is risking your retina swelling up days later.

Don't look at an eclipse, fam.

Anybody dumb enough to look at an eclipse without some sort of protection is clearly lacking in the brain cells department. At that point, you make Goku look smart.