We've all heard the warnings before: Looking directly at the sun, whether it's with your naked eyes or through an optical aid, can be extremely dangerous.

This holds true on any regular sunny day—and when there is a partial solar eclipse. However, there are easy, safe ways to soak in the sun’s great disappearing act.

For the fleeting few minutes during a total eclipse when the entire disk of the sun is completely covered by the moon’s silhouette, it is completely safe to look directly at it with your naked eyes.

However, during an annular ("ring of fire") eclipse or a partial eclipse—where only a portion or even a tiny bite appears to be taken out of the solar disk—it is always extremely