As millions of Americans anticipate the solar eclipse on April 8, safety should be top of mind.
Indianapolis falls in the center of the path of totality, and the city expects thousands of visitors for the nearly four-minute eclipse. The last total solar eclipse happened in 2017, and the path of totality was about 300 miles away from Indianapolis, making it a partial eclipse for the region.
A group of Indiana University School of Medicine trainees in the Medical Neuroscience Graduate Organization — part of the Medical Neuroscience Graduate Program at Stark Neurosciences Research Institute — is teaming up with fellow scientists from the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute to host a lecture about the science behind solar eclipses and their impact on ocular health.
The lecture, titled “Solar Eclipse Seminar: Sun, Space, and Sight,” is set for noon Wednesday, April 3. The lecture is only being offered virtually on Zoom as the in-person event has reached capacity. People can register for the event here. Kaitlyn Dybing and Enrique Chimal-Juarez, PhD candidates, are two of the event organizers.
"It's crucial to understand the potential risks associated with looking directly at the sun, particularly during a solar eclipse," Dybing said. "We want the audience to come away with a better understanding of the biology of the eye and visual pathway, and to learn why wearing protective glasses is so critical when viewing the eclipse."
Direct exposure to the intense light of the sun, even for a brief period, can lead to irreversible damage to the delicate structures of the eye, including the retina, causing solar retinopathy or even permanent vision loss, Dybing and Chimal-Juarez said.
Prolonged ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the biggest culprit for eye damage, they said. When there isn’t much light around us — which will occur during the eclipse — the pupil expands to allow in more light. Even though there will be less visible light from the sun during the eclipse, the amount of UV radiation won’t decrease. When the pupil expands to accommodate for low light, the UV radiation can cause irreversible damage to cells in the eye.
“Wearing protective glasses is so critical when viewing the eclipse,” Chimal-Juarez emphasized, and the graduate organization will offer free glasses to event attendees.
In addition to educating attendees about solar eclipse safety, Dybing and Chimal-Juarez said the seminar also showcases the interdisciplinary and diverse research interests within the medical neuroscience program and the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute.
The institute has nine research interest groups: addiction, advanced imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, neurodevelopment, ocular neurobiology, pain, psychiatric disorders, spinal cord and brain injury, and stem cell.
“We aim to celebrate the breadth of research conducted within our institute and to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue among our members,” Dybing said. “This event serves as a testament to the multifaceted nature of neuroscience research and the collective pursuit of knowledge within our scientific community.”
Visit IU’s official Solar Eclipse 2024 website to read more about what’s happening around the university before and during the eclipse.
