Watch the sun vanish, don’t let your eye sight vanish too

Watch the sun vanish, Just don’t let your eye sight vanish too!

This November 14th New Zealanders will be asking where the sun has gone. During the morning Kiwis will experience a solar eclipse. This natural phenomenon is very exciting, but Visique is reminding people to protect their eyes when they watch the solar eclipse.

Between approximately 9:20am and 11:45am the sun will disappear almost completely behind the moon. Solar Eclipses only occur when the orbit of the moon passes between the sun and the earth. It’s such a rare incident that the next time New Zealand will get to see a solar eclipse is 2025.

Melissa Hay, Optometrist and Director of Visique, is reminding people not to let their eagerness to witness this event damage their eyesight.

“You should never look at the sun without the correct filters. This is really important during a solar eclipse, the sun might be disappearing but you’ll still be able to see its powerful rays – standard sunglasses simply won’t cut the mustard,” says Melissa.

One way to safely view the eclipse is to use a magnifier to focus the sun onto a surface and view the eclipse indirectly. Another way is by using specially designed glasses, which are available at some Visique Optometrists.

These protective eye glasses are equipped with solar filters certified ‘CE n°89/686’ and are specially designed for direct viewing of the sun. The special black polymer filters give a sharp distinct image of the sun while filtering 100% of UV rays and infrared rays as well as 99.99% of the light intensity.

UV protection is important for the eye all year round, for all age groups. Over exposure can lead to eye conditions such as cataracts or pterygiums and eye diseases such as Macular Degeneration – all of which can have a lasting and damaging effect on your vision.

ENDS

About Visique
Visique is 100% Kiwi-owned and operated and has been providing New Zealanders with quality eye care since 2000 through its network of 67 locations nationwide from Auckland to Otago.

Visique offers a wide range of designer eyewear with local and international brands including Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Nike, Tom Ford, Guess, MODA and Kate Sylvester. Visique has a wide selection of optical frames, contact lenses and sunglasses for men, women and children.
Staying true to its core values, Visique takes pride in offering the best possible quality eye health and delivering genuine care and value for money throughout New Zealand communities.

As part of Visique’s ongoing campaign to encourage New Zealanders to look after their eyes, Visique offers 5 year olds the opportunity to receive free sunglasses for the eighth year in a row. In 2012, new-entrants in 660 schools across New Zealand were offered free sunglasses for the eighth year in a row and at the same time Visique educated up to 175,000 students, 350,000 parents and 6,600 teachers about the importance of children's vision care.

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