(WSVN) – He only looked at it for about 20 seconds. But it was enough to permanently damage Lou Tomososki’s right eye.
According to Inside Edition, Tomososki was only a teen during an eclipse in the 1960s.
He said he heard about it when his science teacher told the class about the celestial event. When the time came, Tomososki looked at the sun with his naked eye. He even said he remembered seeing the moon pass over the sun.
“There’s no sign that your eye is being damaged,” he told Inside Edition. “You just squint. You don’t feel anything.”
While he was walking home, Tomososki said there was a bit of a blurry spot in his vision, but it wasn’t until months later that he learned he burned a hole in his retina during a visit to the eye doctor.
“The damage was done right then and there,” he told Inside Edition. “The longer you look at it, the more damage is done.”
According to Inside Edition, Tomososki was unable to see past the second line of the eye chart. He also said he cannot read with his right eye alone.
Tomososki’s goal is to prevent other people from making the same mistake he did with the eclipse coming on Aug. 21.
“Why would you a take chance with your eyes?” he said. “The sun is 93 million miles away and look what it can do.”
If you don’t have proper eye wear for the upcoming eclipse, checkout one of the alternatives to eclipse glasses, or find an eventnear you where you can watch the eclipse. You can also watch it live on WSVN, beginning at 1 p.m.
For more information on how to safely watch the eclipse, click here.
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