Solar eclipses have been exciting since our childhood and why wouldn’t they be? After all, they came after months, sometimes years, and you also got to see a natural phenomenon happening right before your eyes, that you had once read about in your textbook. But often we forget about the safety of our eyes and how the eclipse could harm them. NASA doesn’t want that to happen and has already issued a warning against the unsafe eclipse glasses in view of the eclipse taking place next month.
The Great American Eclipse will happen on August 21 and will be seen across the United States. While the partial eclipse will be visible in all the states, only 14 of them will be able to witness the total solar eclipse in the United States. Millions of people will be seeing the eclipse and NASA wants everyone to be sure of their safety before getting to watch the celestial event.
A number of solutions to this are available in the market in the form of eclipse glasses and hand-held viewers, but not all of them meet the standards and are therefore unsafe for use during an eclipse. NASA has alerted the citizens and has urged to only use the eclipse glasses that have been certified.
How do I know if my eclipse glasses are safe or not?
You can search for the ISO mark on the arms of your eclipse glasses. Specifically, “ISO 12312-2” should be mentioned on the certified glasses that meet the safety standards set. It was also informed that only five manufacturers of eclipse glasses have got their products certified and they are: American Paper Optics, Rainbow Symphony, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), TSE 17, and Thousand Oaks Optical. The name of the manufacturer is also mentioned on the glasses and you can look for it to be extra sure.
NASA has also discouraged the use of glasses that are more than three years old or those with wrinkled or scratched lenses. You need to check the glasses before each use and follow the instructions mentioned on them. The space agency has also discouraged the use of homemade eclipse glasses or even the sunglasses for directly looking at the sun.
It is always fun to witness the solar eclipse but one must make sure that the safety of your eyes should be the top priority.