Why are eclipses harmful?

Well, in general (during non-eclipse times), you've probably been told not to stare at the sun. This is because the sun simply outputs more power than our eye is designed to handle, and exposing our eye to that kind of power can damage the retina. read more

A lunar eclipse is not at all harmful to watch . Sun being a super hot object it is anyways harmful to look at the sun with naked eyes. A Total solar eclipse at TOTALITY is one of the most beautiful natural phenomenon. I saw my first eclipse at the age of 12 and 20 yrs later I can still remember the glorious corona. read more

And in a nutshell, solar eclipses are dangerous because the sun can come out from behind the moon and "surprise you" before you have a chance to look away. And this is actually even worse than when you normally look away from the sun because during the total eclipse, it is dark out, and your pupil therefore dialates so that it can let in enough light to get a good picture. read more