Why we need special glasses to look at the eclipse

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- We're just days away from the total solar eclipse passing through Indiana, and it will be quite a spectacle.

So why do we need special glasses to watch it in the first place? Why not just regular shades?

The American Academy of Ophthalmology says, you need special sunglasses anytime you want to look directly at the sun, because regular sunglasses don't work against it.

The only safe way to view it, experts say, is through those special-purpose solar filters, or eclipse glasses as we've all been calling them, with the international standard I-S-O 12312-2.

Unfiltered cameras, telescopes, and binoculars aren't safe either.

They need their own filters.

It's important to watch your children during the eclipse so they don't remove their special glasses as you can only remove your glasses during totality, which will not be in Michiana.