Watching a solar eclipse without proper eye protection could damage your retina, potentially causing permanent visual impairments.

Here, The i Paper explores the different ways viewers could observe the solar spectacle safely.

Eclipse glasses

Wearing sunglasses as protection to watch the eclipse is not safe. But specialised eclipse glasses are safe to use, as they are several thousand times darker than sunglasses, according to Nasa.

The space agency has advised observers to inspecting their glasses for damage, and discard them if they are torn or scratched.

Nasa has also advised against using eclipse glasses while looking through binoculars, camera lenses, or any other optical device. It has warned that the concentrated solar rays could burn through the glasses’ filter and could cause eye injuries.

If eclipse glasses are not available, Nasa suggests using indirect methods which do not involve looking directly at the Sun.

One example is a pinhole projector, which can be made using a box, aluminium foil and a white sheet of paper.

The first step in making one is taping the foil and paper to both ends of the box. The next step is to pierce a hole through the foil. That would allow you to directly view the Sun shining through the hole onto the paper.

During the different phases of the eclipse, you will be able to see the shadow from the Moon block out the light projected onto the piece of paper.

Another alternative is a colander. By watching the shadow that the colander projects onto the ground, you can safely view the phases of the eclipse.

Phone cameras

Using a phone’s front-facing camera to view the eclipse will not harm your eyes – but it could damage the device.

Nasa said that pointing a phone’s camera directly at the Sun could damage its image sensor.

It warned that using magnifying lenses attached to the phone camera would increase the risk of damage.

Nasa suggested using a solar filter or holding a pair of eclipse glasses in front of your phone’s lens to protect the sensor from damage.