Still Need Eclipse Glasses? Here’s How to Get The Right Ones



The great North American solar eclipse of April 8 is now less than a week away. Next Monday, viewers in a 115-mile-wide swath that goes from northern Mexico up to Canada’s Maritime Provinces will see one of nature’s greatest wonders, a total solar eclipse. The rest of the continent, except for parts of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory, will experience a partial eclipse. But are you prepared? To view this event safely, you will need a pair of eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer (typically a 3-inch-by-5-inch card with a lone long slit, covered with solar filter material, to look through with both eyes). Safe eclipse viewers are made with solar filters that conform to a worldwide safety standard known as ISO 12312-2, and to meet it, manufacturers must demonstrate that their products meet this standard through testing at accredited labs. Although many online vendors have run out of their eclipse-protection wares, you can still find eclipse glasses listed. As of this writing (April 3), only a few places are still hawking them on Facebook. High Point Scientific, a major online retailer of astronomy products, sells Celestron EclipSmart glasses, which are on the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) approved list of eclipse shades. And despite its in-your-face advertising (“Your balls are precious. Protect them.”—clicking on this…er, clickbait takes you to a sales page in which they specify they are talking about “eyeballs”) and the unfortunate fate of the company’s mythological namesake vis-à-vis the Sun, Icarus Shades is an AAS-approved vendor of eclipse glasses. On Amazon, amid listings from numerous vendors for eclipse glasses that purport to be (and may well be) AAS approved and ISO 12312-2 certified, are glasses from Lunt Solar Systems, Ltd., a firm on the AAS approved list; Amazon promises one-day shipping for Prime members.That being said, just because a company lists eclipse glasses as being “in stock” doesn’t guarantee that your order will be fulfilled in time for the eclipse. Retailers may run out abruptly, or they could be delayed for other reasons. I just requested a refund for a package of 5 eclipse viewers I had ordered on March 20; although they were reputed to have been shipped via the US Postal Service, they appear to have been lost en route. Thus, it might be wise to order eclipse glasses from more than one vendor to be on the safe(r) side.In buying eclipse glasses in person, you have the advantage of having the product in hand and being able to inspect it. Many big-box chains, retail stores, and gas stations have eclipse glasses for sale; among those on the AAS-approved list are Meijer, Kroger, H-E-B, Wegmans, 7 Eleven, Cracker Barrel, Lowes, Walmart, Menards, and Staples. Warby Parker is giving up to two pairs of glasses. Visitors to Texas should check out one of the many Buc’ ees locations, for the spectacle as well as their eclipse glasses. Other stores not on the AAS list may also carry safe eclipse glasses; I look for the manufacturer (primarily Rainbow Symphony and American Paper Optics, which I discuss below) and the ISO certification first. I recently encountered an empty display of eclipse glasses at a local Home Depot (which is not on the AAS list) . Had there been any (Compass-branded) glasses there, I would have checked for the manufacturer and ISO certification, and whether they looked legit (in terms of construction and labeling). The AAS list is good but not comprehensive; for instance, the Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project, which has distributed thousands of pairs of safe eclipse glasses made by Rainbow Symphony (including a pair in the photo above) is not listed. If you still haven’t found eclipse glasses as the clock runs out, there is a good, indirect way to view the eclipse: via pinhole projection (see below), either by an easily constructed projector, a household implement such as a colander, or by watching the changing aspect of the tiny solar images created by light shining through gaps and holes in the leafy canopy. I had set up my solar-filtered camera in that Home Depot parking lot to take some test images of the Sun when a customer pulled up near me. He asked me what he was doing, I told him about the eclipse, and he seemed interested enough to get the particulars of it from me. I asked him if he had eclipse glasses, and he said no, he would watch its progress by viewing the images of the Sun created by light filtering through the leaves of a tree. Hey, it works for me.In late February I walked into a Staples near PCMag’s office in Manhattan—which, weather-permitting, will see a 91% partial eclipse on April 8—and was pleasantly surprised to find a display of eclipse glasses at the checkout counter. I bought a few pairs for friends and colleagues. So if you look in the right places, it should still be possible to find a trustworthy set.

Eclipse glasses at NYC Staples (Credit: Tony Hoffman)

Trusted Brands and Where You Can Find ThemHow did I know my Staples glasses were safe (apart from the fact that the company is on the AAS-approved vendor list)? They are made by American Paper Optics—one of the two leading suppliers (along with Rainbow Symphony)—of eclipse glasses, and sold under their Eclipser brand. Both Rainbow Symphony and American Paper Optics are on the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) list of manufacturers and vendors of safe eclipse-viewing products, as is Staples. The list of approved makers also includes solar astronomy specialists such as Thousand Oaks Optical, Lunt Solar Systems, Baader Planetarium, and DayStar Filters. Vendors selling eclipse viewers made by the manufacturers on the list include astronomy and camera specialists such as Celestron, Explore Scientific, Agena Astro, Sky & Telescope, Woodland Hills, and B&H; as well as the big-box retailers mentioned above; plus a wide variety of science stores and organizations.Astronomy clubs and event organizers often distribute free viewing glasses at solar eclipse parties and gatherings. Most such organizations make a point of sourcing them from safe suppliers. When I encounter a pair of unfamiliar solar eclipse glasses, I look for two things: the manufacturer and that they meet the ISO 12312-2 standard.When you get your glasses (or handheld viewer), examine the lenses closely to make sure they’re not scratched or damaged. Hold them up to the sun and if any daylight comes through, do not use them. If the polymer film is breached by so much as a small scratch or hole, the viewer is dangerous to use.If you are watching the eclipse with a child, be sure to instruct them in the proper use of eclipse glasses and to supervise them during the event. What To AvoidNASA has an excellent page on solar eclipse safety. Note, however, that the space agency is not in the business of vetting manufacturers or their products. A company may say that their eclipse viewer is NASA-approved, but they’re not. That said, NASA gets its own branded eclipse shades through American Paper Optics.One thing NASA stresses is to never to use regular sunglasses to view the sun; eclipse glasses are thousands of times darker. Welding glasses are not made for eclipse viewing and while shade 14 is often cited as safe, the AAS does not specifically recommend them.Before “recycling” a pair of glasses used at a previous eclipse, give them a close inspection. Eclipse glasses, made of thin cardboard, are liable to become bent or creased with use. Although I have a collection of glasses that goes back to 2009, I make a point of getting at least one fresh pair for each eclipse I see.Over the years, I have encountered—and even used—some makeshift solar filters that I would avoid today. I watched the 1979 solar eclipse through exposed negative film that a classmate had brought. In Xian, China, a few days before the 2009 eclipse, a street astronomer had given me a piece of smoke-blackened glass through which I briefly viewed (in addition to my eclipse glasses) and photographed the partially eclipsed Sun. In both these cases, they may or may not have been dangerous. Your vision too valuable to take any chances. If you have any doubts about an eclipse viewer, don’t look through it.How Do Eclipse Glasses Work?Solar eclipse glasses are made from either a black polymer (which makes the sun look orange) or silvery Mylar (through which the Sun looks white). Either way, they fully block infrared and ultraviolet light and only transmit about one millionth of the sun’s visible light. This material is secured in a cardboard frame similar to an eyeglass frame, with “arms” that hook over each ear. Note that when you’re wearing eclipse glasses, you can’t see anything except the sun through them, so they’re best used when you’re seated or standing.

Handheld solar eclipse viewers (Credit: Tony Hoffman)

An alternative is an eclipse viewer, a device similar in form to a large index card, in which a strip of solar-filter material is sandwiched between two sheets of cardboard with a horizontal slit cut into each piece of cardboard. They are sometimes called solar viewers, which is perhaps a better name because they can also be used to view the uneclipsed sun. Some eclipse viewers even come with a lanyard so they hang around your neck when you’re not using them.

Recommended by Our Editors

On the rare occasions when sunspots are large enough to be visible without magnification, you can use eclipse glasses or solar viewers to see them safely. The Shadow of the PastFinding safe eclipse viewers for the 2017 American solar eclipse was far more difficult. Back then, the general public was considerably less informed about eclipse eye safety than they are today. While researching a story to help PCMag readers prepare for that eclipse, I bought several eclipse-related products, including one on Amazon Marketplace that was replete with claimed ISO and CE safety certifications. When I received this coppery, steampunk-looking pair of goggles, I pointed them at the sun, which looked green, and much brighter than I had expected. I knew I would neither use nor recommend these glasses, which I deemed unsafe. By the time I got around to rechecking the listing with an eye to reporting the company to Amazon, the product page was gone. At around this time, in response to buyer complaints, Amazon pulled a number of listings, booted companies from Amazon Marketplace that could not prove the certifications, and refunded customers who had bought the questionable products. However, I never received any correspondence from Amazon about a recall or refund related to my pulled listing.Fortunately, in the runup to the April 8 event, I have looked at numerous eclipse-related product listings on Amazon and other retailers, and have seen nothing that looks amiss. The only incident I have heard of concerns a vendor that was selling allegedly counterfeit solar film in the Thousand Oaks Optical storefront on Amazon. Thousand Oaks Optical, a company from which I have bought most of my solar filters, quickly got the bogus listings removed. Solar film is solar-filter material in sheet form, which users can cut to fit in front of their cameras, telescopes, or binoculars. Such film is anonymous in that unlike eclipse glasses, it may not have any identifying markings on it so it may be easier to fake. Sure, someone could fake the small print found on eclipse glass frames, but that takes a lot more work than starting with an unidentifiable sheet of film.Indirect Solar ViewingOne safe, if indirect, way to watch an eclipse is by pinhole projection. For my first solar eclipse, on March 7, 1970, I had no access to eclipse glasses or filters, so I used a pinhole viewer (also known as a pinhole camera) instead. (My colleague Chandra Steele has a great tutorial on how to build one.) Mine consisted simply of two sheets of paper, one with a hole from a pin or thumbtack poked in it. I held the piece of paper with the hole in it with its flat side facing the sun and held the second sheet a foot or so behind it. When sunlight passes through the hole, it projects an image of the sun onto the sheet behind it. I was thus able to safely watch the sun as it shrank down to a thin crescent as the moon passed in front of it.

Solar images projected through a simmer ring (Credit: Tony Hoffman)

You do not even need a pinhole camera to benefit from this projective effect. Sunlight passing through holes or gaps in leaves may form little crescents—or whatever the eclipse’s current phase is—on the ground or other surfaces. Manmade objects with a pattern of small holes, such as colanders and simmer rings and even the holes in a Ritz cracker are able to project a solar image. I used a simmer ring to project the solar images from the 2023 annular eclipse in the photo above.When You Can Take Off Your Eclipse GlassesThe only time you should take your eclipse glasses off is at the point of totality, when the sun’s face is completely obscured by the moon. If you are with a group of people that includes experienced eclipse observers, they can tell you when it is safe to lower the shades. Alternatively, apps such as Solar Eclipse Timer will do the same. If you didn’t remove your glasses, you would miss the uncanny sight of the black disc of the moon surrounded by the corona, the sun’s luminous atmosphere, in a sky resembling deep twilight in which several bright planets or stars may be visible. Just be sure to don your glasses again when totality is over.

Get Our Best Stories!
Sign up for What’s New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

Pulsethrivehub
Logo
Shopping cart