Solar eclipse: Don't put your eyes out. Please.

Maybe you're already excited about the total solar eclipse coming Aug. 21. The area around Cape Girardeau is the prime viewing area as the moon's shadow sweeps across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.

I'll swear I've seen a total solar eclipse before in my lifetime, but it must have been a partial eclipse, according to reliable sources on the Internet. I can remember making a pinhole viewer and watching with my two sons as the moon dug its crescent shape along the edge of the sun.

I can also remember looking directly at the sun during an eclipse. It's such an awesome event that it's almost impossible not to steal a look. Or two. Or three. It's like putting a bowl of chocolate-covered peanuts on the lamp table next to your La-Z-Boy and forcing yourself not to take a taste. Or two. Or three.

If you don't remember anything you read in this column, please remember this when it comes to looking at the sun: Don't!

My wife and I went to a fascinating lecture Monday coordinated by Southeast Missouri State University's Office of Continuing Education and presented by Dr. Margaret Hill, a physics professor at the university and an amateur astronomer.

Again and again the audience was reminded that you might not feel any pain while looking at an eclipsing sun, but the rays that do the most damage are there anyway.

Have you ever heard of melanoma of the eyes?

Safe viewing of a solar eclipse is possible only with special dark glasses. Not sunglasses. And not all eclipse-viewing glasses are safe. There are only three manufacturers of safe viewing glasses: Rainbow Symphony, American Paper Optics and Thousand Oaks Optical. If one of those names isn't stamped on your viewing glasses, throw them away.

And here's a big problem: The three manufacturers of safe eclipse-viewing glasses are pretty much out of stock or only taking orders of 12,000 glasses at a time.

It is hoped that by the time Aug. 21 rolls around there will be plenty of viewing glasses made available by the city, the library or the university -- for free. Otherwise, some eclipse fans may be tempted to get glasses on the black market, which is a dicey proposition at best.

By the way, if you are a welder, you are in luck. A No. 14 welder's helmet or stronger allows for safe viewing of a solar eclipse.

When the sun goes totally dark, as it will on its path across Cape Girardeau, it will be safe to look at the sun's corona for a couple of minutes. But as soon as the edge of the sun peeks from behind the moon, the special glasses or other appropriate shields must be worn for complete eye safety.

Because Cape Girardeau is in the path of eclipse totality, thousands of visitors are expected in the area. NASA is sending a special team to Carbondale, Illinois, which is near Giant City State Park. The park happens to be where the longest eclipse totality will occur anywhere in the U.S.

How many visitors? Well, we were told that most available hotel rooms around here have already been booked. Farmers are renting fields to campers. Every port-a-potty within a hundred miles has been spoken for.

If you want to learn more about this eclipse -- and you should, search the Internet. There are all kinds of resources available, including information about amazing projects planned for this solar event. One of the best websites is right here at Southeast Missouri State University:

eclipse.semo.edu

At Monday's lecture we learned all sorts of interesting things about eclipses and how they occur. But it can't be said too often: Do not look at the sun as it darkens during the eclipse.

By the way, Aug. 21 is going to be a busy day at SEMO. That's the first day of classes at the university for the fall semester. The city is planning some special viewing events, which I'm sure you will hear more about as the eclipse draws closer. University students will be manning special telescopic equipment to record the eclipse -- one of 70-plus official sites stretching across the continent.

We were told before Monday's free lecture that the cost of admission was sharing the admonition to avoid looking at the sun with at least five other people. Well, if any of my cousins are still reading my weekly scribblings, I think I have warned at least seven of you. Please take heed.

And stay positive that Aug. 21 will be a cloudless day. It's hard to see an eclipse during a thunderstorm.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.