LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The countdown to the total solar eclipse is on now that the historic event is less than a month away.
If you don't have your plans nailed down you still have some time, but if you're going to any eclipse watch parties, experts encourage you to wear the right eye protection so you can look at the sky without hurting your eyes.
From a young age, we're taught not to look directly at the sun and that lesson will still hold true during the April 8 total solar eclipse.
However, Optometrist, Bailey Zachry said it's going to take more than sunglasses to protect your eyes.
"You want to wear solar filters. So that can be a handheld filter or the eclipse glasses that you hear of, and you want to make sure that they're ISO approved," Zachry explained.
According to NASA, the only time when it's okay not to wear eye protection while looking at the sun is during the brief time when the moon completely blocks it.
"Anytime that you're going to look at the sun without the right eye protection, you're at risk of getting something called solar retinopathy, which is actually a sunburn inside of your eye. And that can lead to permanent vision loss," she explained.
It's not just your eyes you need to worry about. Protecting your camera and phone is critical too.
Austin Pittman with Bedford Camera and Video said there could be consequences if you don't have the right equipment.
"If you just try to take a picture of the eclipse with your camera, you can actually burn out the sensor and ruin your camera or ruin your phone," Pittman said.
That's why he recommends using a filter.
"You basically just put this side toward the sun and hold your phone up behind it," he said.
Pittman said it's an inexpensive solution and there's a similar filter available for regular cameras.
"This does the job, it is customizable for different size lenses, it just goes on like this," he explained.
He also said they've been selling lots of the filters recently.
"We actually had a class a couple of weeks ago and sold a bunch from that class, we actually also have an event coming up on the day of the eclipse," he said.
While the eclipse is an exciting event, it could do more harm than good if you don't take the necessary precautions.
"It's really really important to protect yourself during this eclipse," Dr. Zachry said.
If you haven't secured your eclipse glasses yet, you can click here for information on where to find them.
Bedford Camera & Video will be hosting a free eclipse event on April 8 at their location on Rodney Parham.
Between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., the staff will guide people through a 30-minute photography class, have an eclipse photo contest, and more.