Precautions you must take before watching the solar eclipse

Muscat: People who intend to watch the solar eclipse tomorrow morning are requested to follow a list of precautions laid out by the Ministry of Health, so that their eyes are not harmed during the event.

“If you plan to watch the solar eclipse, practice using your astronomy equipment,” said the ministry in an advisory statement. “Supervise and train your children before the event. Check the solar filter before using it. Make sure it is free from any scratches or damages.

“If you wear eyeglasses, put eclipse glasses on top before looking at the sun. Do not look at the sun through any optical devices unequipped with solar filters,” added the ministry.

Ahead of the eclipse, which will begin at about 6:30am on the morning of Thursday, 26 December, the Oman Astronomical Society worked with the Nadwa Translation Centre to translate warning messages about the eclipse into 10 different languages, so that both locals and expats in the Sultanate could fully understand them without any difficulty.

These languages included French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, German, Bangla, Spanish, Tagalog and English, and with this being the traditional tourist season in Oman, translating these awareness messages into these languages would also help many of the visitors to the country, in addition to the Omani citizens and expatriates, many of whom hail from South and South East Asia.

“All thanks to the Nadwa Translation Centre, for their efforts to translate the content that was created to generate awareness towards safely watching the eclipse into 10 different languages,” said the Oman Astronomical Society.