Astronomer challenges eclipse glasses guidance on government website

Astronomer Sævar Helgi Bragason says information about using eclipse glasses on the government website island.is is incorrect, mbl.is reports. The guidance gives conflicting instructions on eye safety during the total solar eclipse due to cross Iceland on August 12.

The total eclipse will be the first visible in Iceland since 1954. Many people have obtained eclipse glasses to watch the partial eclipse before and after totality.

Island.is correctly states that eclipse glasses should be worn throughout the partial phases. However, the website also says viewers should put on the glasses during totality, look at the Sun for a few seconds, and then look away, repeating the process with breaks.

Bragason, also known as Star-Sævar, says that instruction is wrong. He says it is safe to look at the Sun without glasses throughout the total eclipse, when the solar corona becomes visible.

“During totality, you can look at the eclipse without glasses the entire time, completely without taking any breaks,” Bragason told mbl.is.

He said viewers should wear eclipse glasses during the partial phases and only during those phases. He also said there is no need to take breaks while looking at the partial eclipse through the glasses.

Bragason has posted videos on social media explaining how and when to use eclipse glasses. He also runs the website solmyrkvi2026.is, which provides information about the eclipse.

The article was updated after publication to clarify that the disputed information appeared on the government information website island.is, rather than being issued by the Directorate of Health. The Directorate of Health logo appeared alongside the information, which initially led to a different attribution, according to Kjartan Hreinn Njálsson, an assistant to the director of health.