Solar-Eclipse Glasses On Amazon May Not Meet NASA's Safety Requirements (qz.com)

For those planning to watch the solar eclipse on August 21st, you're going to want to make sure you have some specialized, ultra-dark glasses to see safely, especially if you're not in the "path of totality." If you're on the hunt for said glasses, please be on the lookout to make sure you buy glasses that meet NASA's safety standards. Quartz is reporting that there are many "fly-by-night manufacturers looking to turn a quick profit by selling subpar and potentially dangerous goods to unsuspecting Americans." From the report: The first stop for most seeking a pair of eclipse glasses is likely to be Amazon, where there are literally thousands of listings for the devices, ranging in materials from cardboard to bronze. I, too, went on Amazon to scout out a pair. I picked more or less at random: I chose a cheap pack of 10 cardboard glasses with five different designs, at least two of which were not garishly jingoistic. About a week after I bought them, I had a thought: Maybe I should double-check to make sure they met safety standards set by the scientific community. Next stop: NASA. NASA, of course, has a website dedicated to the 2017 eclipse, and on it, they have a section dedicated to eclipse-viewing safety. The site says that eclipse-viewing glasses must meet a few basic criteria: Have ISO 12312-2 certification (that is, having been certified as passing a particular set of tests set forth by the International Organization of Standardization); Have the manufacturer's name and address printed somewhere on the product; Not be older than three years, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses.

Comments

Re: sounds like a racket though.

[VendettaMF]

Looking at the sun hurts. People glance and look away.

Looking at the sun through a bad filter that does not block UV does not hurt. People look and keep on looking. Then days, weeks or months later they find they have huge blind spots in their vision which spread outward over time and far to often are permanent.

Please, be careful with your incomplete advice.

Use Number 14 welding glass

[sjbe]

Yes a piece of welding glass works great but make sure you use at least a #14 glass per NASA recommendations. This is widely available through welding supply companies. Not all welding eye protection is adequate for looking at the Sun.