Free glasses for viewing the total solar eclipse on August 12 can be reserved starting this Tuesday, the Ciência Viva agency announced, warning that filming the astronomical event can damage devices such as mobile phones.
Ivone Fachada, a board member of Ciência Viva - Agência Nacional para a Cultura Científica e Tecnológica, told the Lusa news agency that certified glasses would still be available today and in the coming days. She said people could go to the website clubedavisao.pt, register individually, and pick up their certified eclipse glasses at any location across the country, adding that the stock had been reinforced on Monday.
Fachada said watching the eclipse without proper protective glasses carries risks including permanent retina burns, temporarily distorted vision and even permanent vision loss.
She said a person could be looking at the sun while their retina is being burned without feeling any pain at the moment of observation.
Where to buy glasses
Anyone unable to get free glasses for the total solar eclipse, which begins around 18:30 and ends at 20:30, will be able to buy them at pharmacies, some online stores and supermarkets for around three euros. Fachada stressed the importance of checking that the glasses are certified.
Certified glasses carry the ISO 12312-2 standard, which certifies them for solar observation, a visible CE mark indicating the product meets European Union requirements, and EU Regulation 2016/425.
Fachada also advised against using mobile phones or cameras to film the eclipse, saying the devices could suffer damage because they are not designed or equipped for direct sunlight and lack appropriate solar filters.
Where the eclipse will be total
According to the Ciência Viva website, the eclipse will be total in Portugal only in a restricted area of the Parque Natural de Montesinho, near Bragança.
In the rest of the country, the eclipse will be partial, with the sun's obscuration ranging between 92% and 99% across mainland Portugal and between 74% and 77% in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.
A rare event
The last total solar eclipse in Portugal took place in 1912, and the next one will not occur until 2144, making the 2026 eclipse a rare event and an important moment for several generations, according to Ciência Viva.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are perfectly aligned, and the Moon completely blocks the solar disc for a few moments.
