Authorities remove incorrect eclipse viewing guidance from website

Incorrect guidance on using eclipse glasses during a total solar eclipse has been removed from the Icelandic government website island.is, mbl.is reported.

The guidance concerned eye safety during solar eclipses. Mbl.is reported on Monday that the instructions were wrong, a view confirmed in an interview with Sævar Helgi Bragason.

The deleted section had advised people watching a total eclipse to put on their eclipse glasses, look at the Sun for a few seconds and then look away, repeating the process with breaks in between.

The website does not say that the guidance has been removed. It also remains unclear who wrote it. A representative of the Director of Health told mbl.is on Monday that the instructions did not come from that office.

Bragason said the information was incorrect because it is safe to look at the Sun during totality. At that stage, the Sun’s corona can be seen around it and is not dangerous, he said, adding that it is only slightly fainter than a full moon.

He said it is also safe to view a partial eclipse with approved eclipse glasses without taking breaks. Glasses should be worn only while looking at the partial eclipse, he said, while the total eclipse can be viewed without glasses throughout totality.

Bragason has published videos on social media explaining how and when to use eclipse glasses, including for children and people who already wear regular glasses. Further information is available on his website, solmyrkvi2026.is.