CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians’ 2024 home opener is scheduled to take place on April 8, 2024. That is also the same day as a total solar eclipse.
“A total solar eclipse is when the moon passes in front of the sun and completely blocks out all the sun’s light,” said JonDarr Bradshaw, the community engagement coordinator with Great Lakes Science Center.
This will be the last time that a total solar eclipse is visible from the United States for the next 20 years. Bradshaw stressed the importance of keeping your eyes safe when viewing the eclipse and the most common way to do that is with safe solar viewing glasses.
“They have a special lens that blocks out a lot of that white light coming from the sun and it makes it possible for us to see that eclipse,” he said.
Kirsten Ellenbogen, the president and CEO of Great Lakes Science Center, said you can not wear the glasses while looking through anything that would magnify the sun.
“The glasses you may have for safe viewing to watch the eclipse yourself, they’re insufficient if you’ve got a telescope, if you’ve got binoculars, if you’ve got anything else that magnifies the strength of the sun,” she said.
Bradshaw explained what would happen if you do not properly protect your eyes when the eclipse comes.
“The sun is so incredibly bright that it can actually burn — well, it can burn out part of the retina in your eye before you ever know it. You don’t have those pain receptors in the back of your eye, so before you even know it, you’ve already damaged your vision. You’ve already lost some of that vision,” he said.
Whether you are at Progressive Field or at another location in Cleveland viewing the solar eclipse, Ellenbogen said to make sure to protect your eyes.
“Make sure you’re following those safety standards, you’ve only got two eyes, protect them on April 8,” she said.
The total solar eclipse will be viewable for just under four minutes in Cleveland.
