SKY gazers hoping to catch a glimpse of this month’s solar eclipse have been warned they risk permanent eye damage.

Australian Society of Ophthalmologists spokesman Dr Bill Glasson says there is no guaranteed protection against eye damage when attempting to look directly at the sun during the eclipse on November 14, even with approved solar glasses.

“The ASO believes there are great risks associated with all forms of direct viewing including solar filters, unprotected viewing and especially viewing through optical instruments,” Glasson says.

“These devices offer no guarantee against permanent eye damage and anyone recommending or selling them leaves themselves open to legal redress if users who have bought them in good faith then suffer eye damage while looking at the eclipse. They are not worth the risk.”

There are many examples of people suffering permanent eye damage while using so-called solar glasses, according to Glasson.

“In one study of retinal burns after the 1999 UK eclipse, 14 per cent of retinal burns occurred while using commercial solar filter spectacles,” he says.

“Homemade or non standard filters accounted for 30 per cent, while 56 per cent of retinal burn cases resulted from unprotected viewing.

“The ASO strongly recommends people turn their back to the sun during the eclipse and either view the eclipse safely indoors on a computer or use an indirect viewing method like a pinhole camera to project an image onto another surface.

“The blunt message is there is no safe way to look directly at the eclipse without risking permanent eye damage.”