Looking directly at the sun during a solar eclipse can cause serious damage to your eyes, including permanent blindness. This is because the suns rays are still incredibly powerful, even when partially blocked by the moon. During most of a solar eclipse, the sun will be partly blocked by the moon, making it less bright. This tricks your eyes into being able to look at the sun for an extended period of time, but this is still very dangerous.

The damage caused by looking at the sun during a solar eclipse is known as solar retinopathy. The sun damages the retina, which is the part of your eye that transmits information to the brain. Long exposure to the sun without proper protection will cause scarring of the retina from burns and lead to partial, or even permanent, blindness.

It is never safe to look at a partial solar eclipse without proper safety equipment or techniques. During the very brief time the sun is in total solar eclipse, it is safe to look at it, but do so with caution. Even during the total solar eclipse, the total eclipse may last only a short period of time, and if you are looking towards the sun as the moon moves away from blocking the sun, you might get a solar burn on your retina which can cause permanent damage to your eyes.

In summary, looking at the sun during a solar eclipse can cause serious and permanent damage to your eyes. It is important to take proper precautions and use special-purpose solar filters, such as "eclipse glasses," to protect your eyes during a solar eclipse.