Arizonans grabbing solar eclipse glasses ahead of April 8 [Video]

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Starry nights, space rocket launches, and shooting stars – southern Arizona is no stranger to miracles in the sky, and this time, a solar eclipse will take over the skies.

To safely observe a solar eclipse, you need special, dark-lensed glasses, but your typical pair of sunglasses won’t do.

“They don’t have the filtering power that these do,” said Nick Letson, the communications and marketing manager at the University of Arizona’s Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.

“And actually when you put on the solar eclipse glasses, you really won’t be able to see anything but the sun, and that’s by design. You want them to block out everything because the sun is such a strong source of light.”

A lack of eye protection results in serious harm.

“You can damage your eyes in a matter of seconds, less than a minute by staring at the sun directly,” Leston said.

Luckily, the Flandrau Science Center …