via UPROXX, 'Next week Monday, the Great American Eclipse will arrive with more fanfare than any celestial event since Haley’s Comet buzzed past us in ’86. Of course, viewing said event will involve staring directly at the sun, which is not generally recommended, so people are buying eclipse glasses in bulk.
Unfortunately, some of those are fakes, and now Amazon is cracking down.In order to properly view the eclipse by looking at it directly, you need eye protection that complies with ISO 12312-2:2015 — the standard for stuff that lets you look directly at the sun.
We’re not talking about Ray-Bans, here, either; these are industrial solar filters designed to cut out almost all of the light from the sun. Without that protection, you run the risk of solar retinopathy. Basically, you overwhelm your vision, and they may not recover. That makes fake eclipse glasses particularly dangerous, but that hasn’t stopped the unscrupulous from selling them via Amazon.'
THIS WILL HELP YOU SPOT FAKES ...
NASA Traces the Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse of the Heart ... **snickers**
via mlive, AAS adds that a vendor or brand is added to the reputable list "only when everything checks out." As for how to tell when a pair of viewers is unsafe, the astronomical society says that you shouldn't be able to see anything but the sun through a safe solar filter, and that only things such as bright light bulbs, LED flashlights and sun light off of metal should appear "dim."
The AAS' reputable vendors of solar filters and viewers list:
- American Paper Optics (Eclipser) / EclipseGlasses.com / 3dglassesonline.com
- APM Telescopes (Sunfilter Glasses)
- Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film)
- Celestron (EclipSmart Glasses & Viewers)
- DayStar (Solar Glasses)
- Welding filters with shade 12 or higher
- Explore Scientific (Solar Eclipse Sun Catcher Glasses)
- Lunt Solar Systems (SUNsafe SUNglasses)
- Meade Instruments (EclipseView Glasses & Viewers)
- Rainbow Symphony (Eclipse Shades)
- Seymour Solar (Helios Glasses)
- Thousand Oaks Optical (Silver-Black Polymer & SolarLite)
- TSE 17 (Solar Filter Foil)