Squint.
How do you know if your eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers are truly safe? You need to know that they meet the ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written as ISO 12312-2:2015) international safety standard. Filters that are ISO 12312-2 compliant not only reduce visible sunlight to safe and comfortable levels but also block solar UV and IR radiation.
Unfortunately, you can’t check whether a filter meets the ISO standard yourself — doing so requires a specialized and expensive piece of laboratory equipment called a spectrophotometer that shines intense UV, visible, and IR light through the filter and measures how much gets through at each wavelength. Solar filter manufacturers send their products to specialized labs that are accredited to perform the tests necessary to verify compliance with the ISO 12312-2 safety specifications. Once they have the paperwork that documents their products as ISO-compliant, they can legitimately use the ISO logo on their products and packaging.
Even more unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors can grab the ISO logo off the internet and put it on their products and packaging even if their eclipse glasses or viewers haven’t been properly tested. This means that just seeing the ISO logo or a label claiming ISO 12312-2 certification isn’t good enough. You need to know that the product comes from a reputable manufacturer or one of their authorized dealers.
https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters
Opthamologists are going to make a killing as a result of this eclipse....
The sun specks I got were from B&H online. Just like the old 3D red/blue theater glasses, only both lenses blacked out pretty good.
Printed in with the fine print instruction it says,
“Meets 2015 Transmission Safety Requirements of ISO 12312-2 for direct Solar Viewing.” Made by Lunt Solar Systems.
Me and the wife are going on a date to the middle of a stubble wheat field somewhere between Grand Island and Beatrice Nebraska.
100% totality for almost 3 minutes!
I wouldn’t trust any of these “eclipse” glasses. Its not material the “safety” lingo they’ve printed on them—anyone can print up any BS. I wouldn’t be surprised if tons of Chinese fly-by-night outfits who’ve made these things haven’t already taken the money, closed the doors and are hiding out.
There’ll be a lot of blind people stumbling around after August 21st. Buy stock in cane manufacturing and guide dog training companies.
Ours are on the certified list. Good thing because we have 150 pair for an eclipse party we’re hosting.
Check out the Sun's magnetic field lines...
I would not trust my eyes to any glasses. The risk/benefit is too great on the risk side. There are other ways to “see” the eclipse that are risk free.
I told my wife that there will be many reports of eye damage following this eclipse since there are many ignorant people in this country.
It’s never a good idea to stare at the sun, but staring at it during a total eclipse is not MORE dangerous, it’s LESS because It is BEING BLOCKED BY THE MOON.
It may seem like you can look longer, but you will not go instantly blind if you look at it.
Use caution, don’t overdo it. Something as thick as two pairs of sunglasses will allow you to see the entire thing. it will last longer than 3 minute- it will slowly get darker and darker then total darkness then slowly get lighter.
I’ve got some Rainbow Symphony glasses. I tried them in the house and saw nothing. Couldn’t even see any lights on in the house. I went outside in the sun and the same. I might as well have had my eyes closed. Couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I looked up at the sun and saw an orange moon like sun, dimmer than a full moon. I reckon mine are legit.
We are taking the day off--driving up to John Day, Oregon (about 8 hours away) to camp and then watch the eclipse in the morning. For this we are making a solar observatory (variation of a pinhole telescope, but with mounts for iPhones to record). Not sure if 16 hours of round-trip driving is worth the 2 minute and 7 second eclipse, but they are insistent on going.
As with those who avoid dope fiendishness and tramp stamps, those who continue to see will be employable.
I’m going to view it at night.
I’ll wait and watch it at night. I don’t want to damage my eyes.
They sent us an email saying they'd not heard back from the supplier of the glasses we purchased regarding the actual testing/safety of our glasses. They refunded us our money.
I've actually looked through the glasses and the only thing I can see is the sun, looking exactly as it should through solar glasses.
They were darker than the #14 welding glasses I looked through for the 2012 annular eclipse we had. I can't even see my brightest light bulbs through them, just the sun. So, even though we've received no actual confirmation, I think we'll be just fine.
As customers prepare for next week’s total solar eclipse, Amazon has issued a recall for some of the eclipse glasses sold on its internet marketplace, saying it was unable to confirm whether the protective ware was made by a recommended manufacturer.
NASA and the American Astronomical Society have been urging solar gazers to use glasses engineered by reputable vendors that carry the international safety standard number “ISO 12312-2.”
Eclipse glasses made under these standards block 100,000 times more light than ordinary sunglasses. Even brief, unprotected glimpses of the sun can cause blurry vision or blindness. The American Astronomical Society has spotted counterfeit eclipse glasses on Amazon in the past.
Amazon began emailing customers about the safety recall on Saturday. The internet retailer decided to double-check the suppliers “out of an abundance of caution,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote in a statement to NewsHour. The company has not released the scale of the recall or a public list of offending vendors, but says it has offered refunds to customers who purchased the affected glasses.
“Viewing the sun or an eclipse using any other glasses or filters could result in loss of vision or permanent blindness,” Amazon wrote in its email to impacted customers. “Amazon has not received confirmation from the supplier of your order that they sourced the item from a recommended manufacturer. We recommend that you DO NOT use this product to view the sun or the eclipse.”
Yet the company’s spokesperson told NewsHour they weren’t listing specific brands or products “because there may be legitimate versions under the same name.”
Customers with concerns should keep a close watch on their inboxes, as Amazon only sent emails to people who bought unvalidated glasses. Those who did not receive an email should be safe and clear to use their glasses, the company said.
But Amazon’s sudden decision pull these eclipse glasses has left some suppliers in the dark. Manish Panjwani, who runs the astronomy product supplier AgenaAstro, told KGW that Amazon pulled his eclipse glasses even though he provided documentation confirming the authenticity of their manufacturers. Panjwani worries his customers may now look elsewhere and potentially fall prey to scams.
“People have some of the best glasses in the world in their hands right now and they don’t believe in that product,” he told KGW. “They’re out there looking for something inferior.”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/amazon-recalls-potentially-hazardous-solar-eclipse-glasses/
For the one I saw, I looked at a reflection in a puddle.
So that or reflection on windshield ok.
What’s more interesting is the effect on the ground anyway.
The dim light is very unusual and the drop in temperature should be a reminder to all of the sun’s contribution to “global warming”.
If you really need to see a dark disc pass in front of a bright one, I recommend a video. Available at NASA.
The traditional pinhole over sheet of paper method of viewing eclipses is ok too.
The eclipse economy is in full swing. Eclipse glasses are in low supply, and counterfeit eclipse glasses being sold. How can you tell if the solar eclipse glasses you bought are safe for staring directly at the sun or fakes?
According to the American Astronomical Society (AAS), a real and safe pair of solar eclipse glasses should be labeled with ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written in more detail as ISO 12312-2:2015), which is an international safety standard that donates the glasses reduce visible sunlight to safe levels and block UV and IR radiation.
AAS
Unfortunately, fake glasses may also be labeled as being compliant with ISO 12312-2 because, as a general rule, people are greedy, selfish and not to be trusted. To double check the veracity of your eclipse glasses' ISO claims, you can check to see if the vendor from which you purchased the shades is trustworthy in the eyes of the AAS. See its list of Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters and Viewers.
In assembling its list, the AAS checks to make sure a manufacturer earned its ISO rating with proper, labs-based testing. It also asks manufacturers for their authorized resellers and resellers for their manufacturers. If the vendor of your eclipse shades is listed, then you are safe. But the opposite isn't necessarily true. If your vendor isn't listed, it doesn't necessarily mean they are slinging counterfeits. It just means the AAS hasn't checked them out or hasn't been able to track everything down.
So, what are you to do if your vendor isn't on the list? Perform an eye test.
First off, a pair of honest-to-goodness solar eclipse glasses should be way darker than, say, your sunglasses. According to the AAS, the solar filters of eclipse glasses are "many thousands of times darker" than ordinary sunglasses.
So, your mystery pair of eclipse glasses look pretty darn dark? That's a good start. You should not be able to see anything through them except the sun itself or something similarly bright.
What's something as bright as the sun you can use as a test? The AAS suggests you check sunlight reflected off a mirror or a shiny metal object. If sun is behind the clouds or on the other side of the earth when you want to test your glasses, you can use a bright-white LED such as the flashlight on your phone or a bare lightbulb. The reflected sunlight or bright, white, artificial light should appear very dim through a safe pair of eclipse glasses. If you can see light behind a lamp shade or a soft, frosted light bulb through the glasses through your eclipse glasses, then they aren't strong enough to stare safely at the sun.
When staring at the sun through safe solar eclipse glasses, the sun should appear comfortably bright like the full moon, according to the AAS.
If you can't find a pair of safe solar eclipse glasses, you can make a pinhole projector to view the solar eclipse. It's fun and easy and requires a few materials you likely already have in your house.
I will watch it on You Tube.