MANILA — On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible over areas in North America.

Here in the Philippines, the astronomical phenomenon will not be experienced this time, as it will already be 11 p.m. (local time) by then. The sun will not be visible and the moon will already be at the Western side of the Earth, according to Chat Ramos, chief of PAGASA's Space Science and Astronomy Section.

Still, she gave tips on how to safely observe the total solar eclipse.

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"Huwag po direktang titingin sa araw dahil magkakaroon ng burnt retina – masusunog po iyong retina – ito po ay magdudulot ng pagkabulag. So pinapayuhan po na gumamit ng special filter. Or iyong welders' glass po; ang ina-advise ay iyong shade 14 or higher," she told ABS-CBN News.

(Do not directly look at the sun as you can have a burnt retina that may cause blindness. So we advise using special filter or welders' glass; we advise using shade 14 or higher.)

Ramos said one should not look at the sun directly – not even for a second.

"Ang puwede niyo lang po obserbahan using your naked eye ay iyong totality –  ‘yung madilim na, ‘yung natakpan na ng anyo ng buwan ‘yung kabuuan ng araw. Iyon po okay na siya. Pero once na nagli-leave na uli iyong shadow doon sa araw, iyon po kailangan uli nating gumamit ng filters," she explained.

(The only time you can observe with your naked eye is during the totality, when it is already dark, when the moon is covering the entire sun. That is okay. But once the shadow is leaving the sun, we need to use filters again.)

Looking directly at the sun may also cause blurred vision.

"Karaniwan din po sa atin, 'di ba iyong pag nakatitig tayo sa ilaw, parang nagkakaroon ng blurriness iyong pagtingin natin pag tumingin na tayo sa ibang parte ng paligid natin. Parang ganoon din po kahit 1 second, so lalo na kung matagal. Pero ang advice po talaga ay never na tumingin directly sa araw kapag nagkakaroon ng solar eclipse or even iyong sa pang-araw-araw natin na pagtingala... Kahit po sa telescope hindi pwede. Kailangan pa rin natin gumamit ng special filter, iyon po iyong tinatawag na 'mira', e hindi naman siya laging available," Ramos said.

(It is also common to us, when we look at a light, there is some sort of blurriness once we shift our sight to other parts of our surroundings. That is also true for the eclipse even if for just 1 second, what more if for a longer time. But the advice, really, is to never look directly at the sun during a solar eclipse or even in our daily lives when we look up at the sun... Even when using a telescope. We still need to use a special filer, what we call 'mira', which isn't always available.)

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The expert also disapproves of using household items to observe the total solar eclipse. 

"Iyon po mga X-ray films, mga potato chips bag, DVDs, sunglasses, hindi po siya ina-advise kasi mag-penetrate pa rin iyong liwanag ng araw... Meron din sinasabi na pwedeng gumawa ng pinhole out of iyong boxes tapos meron siyang maliit na pin na butas, iyon pwede mo siyang gamitin, observe mo siya doon sa ground," she added.

(X-ray films, potato chips bag, DVDs, sunglasses are not advisable because sunlight will still penetrate these items... There is what they call making a pinhole out of boxes then there is a small pin which has a hole, this one you can use, and observe the eclipse on the ground.)

Ramos said the next total solar eclipse that will be visible in the country is on April 20, 2042 in Legazpi City, with a partial solar eclipse that can be observed in Metro Manila.

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