Great eclipse photos taken by people in and around Calgary (and how to tell if you wrecked your eyes)

Many eyes wereon the sky this morning.

For the first time in nearly a 100years, a total solar eclipse travelled across the entire continental United States.

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It was only a partial eclipse in Canada. In Calgary, the moon started kissing the outer edge of the sunaround 10:20 a.m.

The maximum eclipse for Calgary happened around 11:30 a.m., with the entire event lastingabit more than two and a half hours.

It wasn'tsafe to look at theeclipse with the naked eye, and if you did, you may have inadvertently burned your eyeballs.

Optometrist Kent Prete says there are two types of injury you may have caused yourself: a sunburn to the surface of your eye, or cornea, and a more serious chemical burn to the photoreceptors at the back of your eye, or retina.

A slight grittiness or itchiness is indicative of a physical sunburn to the eye and should pass within about 48 hours, Prete said.

The good news is that the epithelium, or outer 10 per cent of the cornea, regenerates very quickly. Artificial tears, rest, and good hydration can help speed the healing process. If it's really uncomfortable, Prete recommends taking an over-the-counter painkiller.

"The things that you would wanna watch out for is if you actually feel like, 'I can't blink enough to get things clear,'" Prete warned.

If you're unable to focus on things that would normally appear clear, or if you notice blurring or smudging in your vision, Prete suggests booking an appointment with your eye doctor to get things checked out.

Advanced retinal imaging technology, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), can take cross-sectional photos of your retina to document any damage to the back of the eye, and can help track if the condition is improving.

"Unfortunately, there's not really a lot of treatment for it other than just maintenanceto monitor what's going on," Prete said.

Still, Prete said it's unlikely that many Calgarians would have stared at the sun long enough to cause serious damage. Because Calgary was not able to witness a total eclipse, most people would have felt discomfort in their eyes just moments after staring directly into the sun, and that physical discomfort would cause them to look away, he said.

In addition, many people bought or made special eclipse glasses for the event.

Some even made a pinhole camera, which created a cool effect for those not looking directly at the eclipse.

There were plenty of viewing parties taking place around the city, including Telus Sparkand a pop-up observatory at the University of Calgary.

Even CBC staff got into the action.

And our Calgary Eyeopener stargazer Don Hladiuk even travelled to Idaho to see the full corona.

Here's a look of the total eclipse of the sun seen in those parts.

Calgary'sLogan Evans also hit the road for the big show, and took in the spectacle inCasper, Wyoming.

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