How to find solar eclipse glasses and avoid buying fakes

Publish date: 2024-08-07

This month, thousands of people from around the country will flock to find a spot on the path for the celestial event of the year. The April 8 event will be the last total solar eclipse to grace this country’s skies for more than two decades.

But, how you view the spectacle — or what you view the spectacle with — is critical, as it comes with serious potential dangers. This guide has tips for how to keep your eyes protected and guard against items that promise to shield you but won’t.

And don’t fret! There is still plenty of time to grab some solar eclipse glasses before they are sold out. And if you can’t get a pair, this guide will explain ways you can watch without solar eclipse glasses.

Why is it dangerous to look at the eclipse without special glasses?

First, let’s talk about safety.

It’s always dangerous to look at the sun with the naked eye, but normally its brightness causes a pain response that stops you from doing that. During an eclipse, the wavelengths that trigger pain are blocked, but those that damage the retina are not, said Suzanne Fleiszig, a professor of optometry and vision science at the University of California at Berkeley.

The focused light from the sun can quickly fry the back of your retina causing solar retinopathy or “eclipse blindness.” This can cause temporary or permanent vision impairment. In severe cases, it can lead to blindness.

“People who have this will still be able to see out to the side but the central part of their vision will have a hole in it,” Fleiszig said.

People have a natural reflex to look away from things that are too bright. But inadequate safety equipment blocks that reflex and still exposes you to unassuming, “invisible threats” from the sun, said William Tuten, a professor of optometry and vision science at the University of California at Berkeley.

“It’s only after the damage is sustained, and you’ve developed a blind spot, that you would know you’ve damaged yourself,” Tuten said.

And while many people may be tempted to whip out their cameras or binoculars to view, don’t do it without a specialty solar filter. The concentrated solar rays could cause instant severe eye injury, according to NASA.

What do you need to know about solar eclipse glasses?

Before you finalize your solar eclipse glasses purchase, you should check to see if it has the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2 code on the inside. If it does, you can be pretty certain that your glasses are legitimate.

Solar glasses that fit all the criteria — have the ISO number and aren’t damaged — can be used to look at the sun on a normal day to observe details of the sun’s surface, said Noah Petro, a scientist with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Project at NASA.

“On a clear day with these glasses on, you’ll see the bright disk of the sun. You may be able to see sunspots. You may be able to see features on the surface of the sun with those glasses on,” Petro said.

On April 8, the moon will block the sun over a slice of North America, creating a sensational show. Here is what to expect during the total solar eclipse. (Video: John Farrell, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

How can you tell if eclipse glasses are fake?

Experts suggest exercising some caution when buying solar eclipse glasses online. If you order a pair of solar eclipse glasses online and want to ensure their safety, there are a few things you can do.

First, you can test your glasses at home. Try putting your solar eclipse glasses on inside around a bright light. If it seems like a lot of light is coming in, they probably aren’t valid.

“If you put on something that you think are solar glasses and you see lights in your home, or lights in an office or store, and you can vividly see the outline of those lights, they are no good,” Petro said.

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You can also cross-reference the glasses you ordered with the list of trusted and well-known manufacturers and vendors. The American Astronomical Society has a list on its site.

Can you use your glasses from the 2017 eclipse?

If you’ve kept your glasses from 2017, you’re a trouper. And yes, you can still use them.

You just have to make sure they aren’t scratched, dented or bruised. To check your old solar glasses, hold your them up to an indoor light; if you can barely see it, they are safe.

Can you still participate without solar eclipse glasses?

The short answer is yes. But you may be participating a little differently.

If you don’t have solar eclipse glasses but you have a spaghetti strainer, you can hold the strainer out and allow the sun to cast dozens of eclipses on the ground. You could also make a pinhole projector using a cereal box to project an image of the sun onto a nearby surface.

If you happen to have welding mask with shade numbers 12 to 14, those are also safe to view the solar eclipse, according to Aaron Zimmerman, who is a clinical professor in optometry at Ohio State University. The American Astronomical Society recommends welding glasses with shade numbers 13 or 14, although the image color could have a green tint rather than yellow-orange or white one.

But those are not to be confused with sunglasses. Regular sunglasses won’t cut it. Dark sunglasses allow in 10 percent of light but to safely — and comfortably — view the solar eclipse, you’d need glasses that allowed less than 0.001 percent, Zimmerman said.

“You actually have to think about — maybe six or seven pairs of sunglasses is what it would take to view the solar eclipse safely,” Zimmerman said.

When during the eclipse can you take your glasses off?

You can take your glasses off during totality, as in, when the sun is completely covered and it’s completely dark outside. But experts suggest doing even that with caution and under the direction of someone who can tell you when it’s safe to have your glasses off.

Other than that, there is no time during the eclipse when it is safe to look directly at the sun without the solar eclipse glasses.

If you are not one of the lucky ones along the 100-mile-wide path that stretches from Mexico through Maine, meaning your area doesn’t reach totality, it’s not safe for you look at the solar eclipse without glasses, ever.

Even if you have 99 percent totality, don’t take that risk, Petro said.

“It’s like a laser beam. You might have a big laser beam with lots of high-energy light coming out or a very small laser beam with just a little bit. It’s still coming out at that same intensity. It can still cause damage,” Petro said.

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