ORLANDO, Fla. — The moment we’ve been waiting for is almost here: the solar eclipse.

On Monday, you can witness the rare celestial event that we won’t see for another 20 years.

However, much of Central Florida will see a partial eclipse, not the full solar eclipse, because we are not in the path of totality.

Dr. Francisco Richardson at Eyes of Winter Park says on Monday, it’s important to keep your eclipse glasses close. He says your vision is something you do not want to mess around with.

“You only get one shot at this. If you make a mistake, you can potentially go blind,” Richardson said. 

Richardson said if you’re not careful, you can develop solar retinopathy. The message he wants to get across is a simple one.

“It’s permanent, it’s irreversible, we don’t want to stare at the sun at any cost,” he said. 

That’s why proper protection is important — you just have to know where to look.

“It’s ISO 123112-2, which stands for, ‘Filters with Direct Observation of the Sun,’” Richardson said. 

That’s what you want to lookout for. That number, Richardson said, will protect your eyes from the eclipse.

If you have older eclipse glasses, Richardson says don’t use them.

“One thing to note is if you have any old glasses from a previous eclipse, they degrade. They’re no longer good for protection. You want to make sure you get new glasses for this event,” he said.

At the event of the day, Richardson wants you to have fun, just do so safely. 

“The bottom line is if you stare at the sun, you will have ocular damage,” he said.