--- title: Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman's Eye description: The August solar eclipse burned a crescent shape into one woman's retina, researchers found in a case study of eclipse solar retinopathy. canonical: https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-07T17:43:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:07.268Z article:section: Health og:title: The Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman’s Eye og:description: It "kind of looks like Pac-Man," researchers said og:url: https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74bb13a526578932/6988f40b22fb85f43be23f25/solar-eclipse-2017.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Solar Eclipse Over The United States og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman’s Eye twitter:description: It "kind of looks like Pac-Man," researchers said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74bb13a526578932/6988f40b22fb85f43be23f25/solar-eclipse-2017.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman’s Eye > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2fd48654-a1e8-48d9-b0c6-23866bf9a79d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2fd48654-a1e8-48d9-b0c6-23866bf9a79d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=2fd48654-a1e8-48d9-b0c6-23866bf9a79d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Time-Lapse from Casper, Wyoming during The Great American Eclipse [Watch (HLS stream): Time-Lapse from Casper, Wyoming during The Great American Eclipse](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GoarQbqx.m3u8) (1:41)  _Published 2017-08-25. Time-Lapse from Casper, Wyoming during The Great American Eclipse_ by [Jamie Ducharme / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jamie Ducharme / People Contributor Dec 7, 2017 5:43 PM UTC  The solar eclipse is seen on August 21, 2017 in New York City. The solar eclipse is seen on August 21, 2017 in New York City. Noam Galai—WireImage by [Jamie Ducharme / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jamie Ducharme / People Contributor Dec 7, 2017 5:43 PM UTC The [total solar eclipse](http://time.com/4902132/solar-eclipse-path/) in August came with a well-publicized warning: Whatever you do, [don’t stare at the sun without protective glasses.](http://time.com/4906156/solar-eclipse-2017-eye-damage/) What got less publicity, according to Dr. Avnish Deobhakta, was [how to choose the right protective glasses](http://time.com/4899457/amazon-refunds-eclipse-glasses/)—and that knowledge gap has fueled a case study the assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published in _JAMA Ophthalmology_ on Thursday. In the case study, Deobhakta and his colleagues describe the plight of a 20-something woman who viewed the eclipse through what turned out to be defective glasses. Four hours after staring at the sun for about six seconds without glasses, then approximately 15 to 20 seconds with glasses, she began to experience color and vision distortions, as well as blurry vision, particularly in her left eye. She could also see a “central black spot” with her left eye. When she arrived at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) seeking treatment, doctors used adaptive optics to see detailed images of the cells that make up the photoreceptor layer of the retina, the part of the eye that converts light into electrical energy that the brain can interpret. The technology allowed them to analyze her sun-related damage, called solar retinopathy, in extremely granular detail, Deobhakta says. They found that the eclipse had apparently burned a crescent shape into the woman’s retina. “We were able to really classify how photoreceptors were damaged to the point where it literally looked almost like a shadow of the eclipse crescent on the photoreceptor area,” Deobhakta explains. “What the layman would think would happen actually kind of did happen, and has been shown by really, really precise technology.”  Courtesy of JAMA Ophthalmology When asked to draw what she sees through the affected eye (pictured above), the woman corroborated the researchers’ findings by sketching out what “kind of looks like Pac-Man,” Deobhakta says. Six weeks after the eclipse, her symptoms persisted. The woman profiled in the case study was one of 22 people who visited NYEE complaining of eclipse-related damage. Of those, only three had structural eye problems, and only the woman described in the article had solar retinopathy severe enough to be included in the paper. Even still, Deobhakta says the chance to study the condition in this much detail was an unprecedented opportunity. “Normally, we don’t have eclipses, and when we do, \[we don’t usually have\] patients who both look at the eclipse and then present themselves to an eye hospital with the technology that can adequately assess it. At least in the New York area, there hasn’t been an eclipse since we’ve developed this technology,” he says. “All of those things happening at the same time are very rare.” The confluence of factors made one thing crystal-clear, Deobhakta says: Before the next total eclipse, seven years from now, we’ll need better education about eclipse glasses. _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/human-interest/woman-looked-solar-eclipse-defective-glasses/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/"},"headline":"The Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman’s Eye","datePublished":"2017-12-07T17:43:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:42:07.268Z","description":"It \"kind of looks like Pac-Man\"","url":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/","keywords":["Research","solar eclipse","Eclipse","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74bb13a526578932/6988f40b22fb85f43be23f25/solar-eclipse-2017.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme / People"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74bb13a526578932/6988f40b22fb85f43be23f25/solar-eclipse-2017.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Solar Eclipse Over The United States","caption":"Solar Eclipse Over The United States","creditText":"Noam Galai—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/","name":"The Solar Eclipse Burned a Crescent Shape Into This Woman’s Eye"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Time-Lapse from Casper, Wyoming during The Great American Eclipse","description":"Time-Lapse from Casper, Wyoming during The Great American Eclipse","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GoarQbqx/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-08-25T14:59:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GoarQbqx.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/","duration":"PT1M41S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5052203/eclipse-retina-damage-case-study/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```