How to Tell If Your Eclipse Glasses or Handheld Solar Viewers Are Safe

[Snarkoleptic]

https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification

What to Look For

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.

Safety info from NASA-
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

[cloudbase]

1. Just go to a welding supply shop.

Get a lens that's suitable for arc welding, a no. 10 or 11 shade.

[hlthe2b]

2. NASA recommends #14 welding glasses--nothing less

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/17/eclipse-glasses-alternatives-most-welders-lenses-not-suitable-viewing-safely/578679001/

According to the NASA total eclipse website, a shade 14 welding lens is the only lens adequate for viewing the eclipse.

Many local welding companies, including Airgas and Holston Gasses, have already sold out of the higher-shade lenses. A lens with lesser shading will not be adequate to protect the eyes.

[mitch96]

4. Got my shade 14's a few weeks ago.

Had to go ebay as all the local welding shops were out of 'em.. Heading up to So Carolina on monday to view and then EAT BBQ!!! Whole Hog, please...
m

[dubyadiprecession]

3. For those on the alt-right, ignore the fake news of the danger of staring at the eclipse.

You just can't trust the media, so keep your eyes on the moon, as it moves in the path of the sun.

[JimGinPA]

5. This Post Is In Poor Taste...

Also stolen & put on my Facebook page.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. Back in January of this year I was telling

everyone I knew to order their eclipse glasses right away, because the suppliers would run out of them by July or so.

I stocked up and have been passing out my extras.

I'm sure in the days and weeks after the eclipse we'll be reading many sad stories about people with permanent eye damage because of looking at the eclipse with poor glasses or none at all.

[MineralMan]

7. We're only partial in Minnesota. I'm going to

do the hole in the cardboard box trick. However, another interesting method is to stand in the shade of a tree with your back to the sun. Look down and you'll see the eclipse dozens of times in projections from small gaps between leaves. It's an interesting and ancient way of viewing a partial eclipse.

That's what I did during the last partial eclipse.

Note: Despite my plans, it looks like it will be cloudy tomorrow for the eclipse here, so no joy, most likely.

[blaze]

10. I read about the tree shade trick

just a few weeks ago and have been telling everyone I know about it!! A piece of lace or loosely knitted something will work as well.

Sorry about your clouds.

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I had to buy 5 to get the pair I needed.

Decided to give the rest away to neighbors in my condo building. They were gone in two minutes!

Sadly, it's supposed to rain in Chicago tomorrow. It'll still get dark in the early afternoon, though.

[highplainsdem]

9. I'm still concerned about the poor fit of most of these, the light around the frames, as well as

any damage, no matter how tiny, to the lenses.

Goggles with the right strength lenses I could trust.

Flimsy cardboard-frame glasses that won't fit closely against the face, that are likely to slip or let in too much light as people try to find the eclipse, do strike me as potentially very hazardous. Especially in children's hands.

I hope we won't be hearing of lots of cases of eye damage after this eclipse.

I think the indirect viewing options emphasized in the past are much safer. So is the live coverage on TV and online.

[dembotoz]

11. pinhole camera still safest and costs like nothing...google it

not gonna trust my eyesight over some damn made in china{or where ever}piece of knock off trash