On April 8, a rare total solar eclipse will be visible throughout North America, casting its shadow across parts of Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada. Witnessing this kind of eclipse, where day instantly turns to night, can be thrilling — especially since there won’t be another one like it until 2044. But if you want to watch it safely, you’ll need a pair of eclipse glasses or some other type of protective eclipse-viewing gear.
According to Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist and senior scientist at the American Museum of Natural History, the danger in looking directly at the sun during an eclipse is the same as looking directly at the sun on any other day: In both cases the bright light can hurt your retina and cause decreased vision. Wearing sunglasses while you’re outside will protect your eyes from long-term UV damage, but they don’t do anything to protect you if you stare directly at the sun. And the risk of injury dramatically increases during an eclipse, because people are much more likely to stare directly at the sun for an extended period of time.
Faherty adds that since your eyes don’t have any pain receptors, you may not realize you’re doing any damage until it’s too late. On top of how bright the light is, the sun’s UV rays can burn your eyes in the same way it can burn your skin. Eclipse glasses protect your eyes by blocking enough light so that almost everything besides the sun will look completely dark, while also blocking UV radiation.
Every legit pair of eclipse glasses will have an ISO certification stamp
To be sure that you can view the eclipse safely, check that the glasses you are buying are “ISO 12312-2 Certified for Solar Viewing.” ISO is shorthand for the International Organization for Standardization, a nongovernmental group of experts from more than 160 countries that agree on the best way of manufacturing a product (like solar eclipse glasses) or managing a process. ISO certification means the eclipse glasses meet the organization’s standard requirements for protecting your eyes during an eclipse. If you do not see the ISO certification, Faherty says, don’t buy them or wear them. “It’s not going to burn your eyeballs out immediately,” she says “but it could cause sustained damage over time.” The vast majority of solar eclipse glasses are made of thin cardboard and don’t look very high-tech. But don’t be fooled, they are actually very different from your everyday sunglasses and designed for looking directly at very bright light, with lenses similar to those found on welding helmets.
Here’s an ISO-certified pair from a reputable brand that can be purchased individually. The American Astronomical Society has published a list of trusted suppliers and brands that includes American Paper Optics, the maker of these glasses. (American Paper Optics is also the brand that Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio received from her local public library, which is distributing glasses ahead of the eclipse.)
If you need more than one pair, these ISO-certified eclipse glasses are sold in a pack of 4.
If you prefer to shop on Amazon, in addition to ensuring glasses are ISO 12312-2 certified, look for pairs that ship from or are sold by Amazon (or ideally both), cost no more than $5 per pair, and come from a reputable brand. This pack of 20 by American Paper Optics is still available and costs less than $2 per pair. Just check on the expected delivery date for your location to ensure they’ll arrive before April 8.
Lunt Solar Systems also appears on the AAS’s trusted brands list and has a five-pack of glasses available for $4 per pair.
And here’s a six-pack for $10 from Helioclipse, which is also on the AAS’s list of trusted brands and supplies.
Depending on your location, this 12-pack from Helioclipse might arrive sooner.
If you want to photograph the eclipse or watch it through a telescope, here’s a solar filter you can put over your lens. The foldable, ISO-certified cover will protect your eyes from damage that could result from looking directly at the sun through the viewfinder.
This set includes wrap-around ISO-certified eclipse glasses as well as a photo filter you can use on your phone.
If you don’t have proper eclipse glasses, raid your kitchen for a colander
If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can use a colander or anything with tiny holes as a portable camera obscura to project the image of the eclipse onto a piece of paper on the ground. Each of the little holes acts like a pinhole camera, projecting a miniature sun onto your paper as it’s being eclipsed. Faherty adds that this is a really fun way to watch the eclipse with kids.
Other handy eclipse-viewing gear
You can also buy a type of telescope called a sunspotter solar telescope, which Faherty told me a lot of people will use during the eclipse. (Some libraries will also make them available to the public.) The small — and, be warned, quite expensive — wooden gadget contains a mirror that reflects the light of the sun down onto a piece of paper. As with a colander, you will not be looking directly at the sun, so you can safely view the eclipse without glasses. In the reflection you’ll be able to see the eclipse as it’s happening and, according to Faherty, you might also be able to catch a dark spot on the sun that is caused by the sun’s magnetic field breaking apart close to the surface.
You can also use a pair of binoculars held backwards to create a makeshift telescope. You’ll need to attach a piece of cardboard to provide shade, and then use the backwards binoculars to project the sun’s image onto a sheet of paper. Or you could buy a special ISO-certified solar eclipse lens. This one, from design-y binocular brand Nocs, is compatible with their monocular Zoom Tube magnifier, which is sold separately but a handy piece of outdoor gear to have all-year-round.
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