You’ll need special glasses in order to protect your eyes while watching the upcoming solar eclipse, but there’s one big problem: counterfeit options are everywhere and detecting real vs. fake is no easy feat.
So how can you make sure the glasses you are buying are safe?
Experts say proper eyewear is critical during solar eclipses, maybe even moreso in the Chicago area since the region isn’t in the path of totality.
“So a solar eclipse is no more dangerous to look at than just the regular sun,” Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium, told NBC Chicago. “You don’t go out staring at the sun on any given day. You don’t go out staring at a solar eclipse on any given day. The only people who can see the sun safely with just their eyes are the people who see totality – that is safe to look at. Any other view of the sun, you must have legit, noncounterfeit solar viewing glasses to be able to do it. This does not work with sunglasses or things like that.”
An article from Travel + Leisure magazine agrees, citing the American Astronomical Society.
“The American Astronomical Society recommends you wear solar eclipse glasses at all times while viewing a solar eclipse,” the article said. “If you are not in the path of totality, you will only ever see the partial eclipse, so it’s crucial you keep your eclipse sunglasses on at all times to avoid eye damage.”
Here’s what you should know before you buy your protective eyewear:
What can happen if you don’t have glasses while viewing a solar eclipse?
According to the Adler Planetarium, viewing the solar eclipse without glasses can result in irreversible eye damage within seconds, and as your eyes lack the nerve endings to register pain as it’s occurring, it’ll be too late by the time you know.
“The amount of light coming from the sun is intense,” Nichols said. “And so you have a lot of visible light, you also have infrared light and ultraviolet light. It’s the infrared and ultraviolet that you especially don’t realize that your eyes are being subjected to. You don’t have nerve endings on the back of your eyeball, so you could be experiencing a burn and not know it. And that burn might turn out to be permanent.”
Those who are in the path of totality will be able to safely look at the eclipse only during the brief window where the sun is entirely covered.
How can you tell if your glasses are safe to use?
Nichols stressed the importance of ensuring that viewing glasses are not counterfeit, however, there’s no real way to detect real glasses versus counterfeit ones just by looking at them.
“The glasses if they’re counterfeit, they may appear fine, because maybe they’re dark enough that you can that it appears like you can safely look at the sun. But what you don’t know is are they letting through ultraviolet and infrared light. That’s the thing that I would worry about the most,” she said.
Detecting real vs. fake becomes even more challenging when companies tout unproven or inccurate safety claims.
“Just be careful and don’t just assume just because it says safe glasses that that they actually are because anyone can write that,” she said.
Experts suggest purchasing solar eclipse glasses through suppliers deemed “safe” by the American Astronomical Society.
The society’s list offers links to “selected suppliers of solar viewers and filters that you can be confident are safe when used properly.”
“These include companies and organizations with which members of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force have had good experience as well as other companies and organizations that have demonstrated to our satisfaction that the products they’re selling meet the safety requirements of the ISO 12312-2 international standard,” the list states.
The society notes, however, that its list is not exhaustive, and glasses not listed on the site could still be safe. They do not recommend using Amazon, eBay, Temu or other online…
This article was originally published by a www.nbcchicago.com . Read the Original article here. .