Inside Science No. 161, which was about the sun, summarises a lot of solar astronomy but makes a serious error when it says "Looking directly at the sun without such filters, even during an eclipse, can permanently damage eyesight" (21 June).
Indeed, during a total solar eclipse, starting when the diamond ring is fading and the chromosphere becomes visible, is just when it is completely safe to watch directly, without any filters. During the next few seconds or minutes, until the chromosphere and diamond ring again appear, is the glorious time of beauty and science when one looks at the remaining atmosphere of the sun - the chromosphere and corona - directly.
• Just to reinforce the safety message, we should point out that it is normally not safe to look at the sun without eye protection during any phase of an eclipse other than ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.