NASA Warns That Your Eclipse Glasses May Be Unsafe

Megalith

Megalith

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On Monday, August 21, 2017, a solar eclipse will be visible (weather permitting) across all of North America, and NASA has prepared an early PSA for viewers who wish to stare into the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun: doing so with the naked eye is obviously a terrible idea, but those who already have eyewear or handheld viewers prepared should thoroughly inspect whether they meet the basic proper safety viewing standards. These should include an ISO 12312-2 designation and lenses that are less than three years old.

The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as “eclipse glasses” or handheld solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun. To date, five manufacturers have certified that their eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for such products: American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.
 
"you only can use these very special filters that have the following brand names in them"

Why are you promoting Nasa sponsors megabro?
 
No one ever seems to mention that you can look at the FULL ECLIPSE without any eye shades
 
when standing under a tree youll get perfect little suns on the ground with the moon part cut out. or you could just use your hand to let a little light shine through and youll get the same effect. neither are as good as a shadowbox but you get the same effect. I think a shadow box looks great but seeing all of the 1000s of little suns under a tree is the coolest. i have welding shields that might work if not im fine with it since i seen a few eclipse since the 80s.
 
_l_ said:
No one ever seems to mention that you can look at the FULL ECLIPSE without any eye shades
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You can but the danger is if you don't look away (or have eye protection) at the right time, you will be looking at the sun right as the eclipse ends, which is bad.
 
Don't forget to wear a Snell M2010l approved helmet when you walk outside the house too. /s I'm all for reasonable safety precautions, but there's a difference between Nanny State and being safe. You don't need a ISO certification on everything.

I probably can't be bothered to walk outside and look at all. Even with the hype, it's so easy for me to dismiss it since I'm nowhere near the totality line.
 
[21CW]killerofall said:
You can but the danger is if you don't look away (or have eye protection) at the right time, you will be looking at the sun right as the eclipse ends, which is bad.
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Ummmm yeah about that....

Has anyone ever looked at the Sun? While yes the eclipsed Sun is easier to look at as you won't feel as much pain, the simple fact of the matter is that is the eclipsed Sun is a small fraction of the total surface area, meaning a smaller fraction of total UV exposure compared to all those instances in your life where you've glanced directly at the Sun (whether with sunglasses or not)
 
Poseur said:
Don't forget to wear a Snell M2010l approved helmet when you walk outside the house too. /s I'm all for reasonable safety precautions, but there's a difference between Nanny State and being safe. You don't need a ISO certification on everything.

I probably can't be bothered to walk outside and look at all. Even with the hype, it's so easy for me to dismiss it since I'm nowhere near the totality line.
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Come on now, this is NASA. They aren't out to get you. They're not the FCC.
As someone who has been looking at those glasses, I am glad they do have some sort of certification. Eye protection is not something to guess on. I would hate to be responsible for ordering a few thousand pairs for kids at a large school, only to find out too late the glasses I ordered were just regular sunglasses lenses.
Let the wrath of the helicopter parents rain down upon ye.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Ummmm yeah about that....

Has anyone ever looked at the Sun? While yes the eclipsed Sun is easier to look at as you won't feel as much pain, the simple fact of the matter is that is the eclipsed Sun is a small fraction of the total surface area, meaning a smaller fraction of total UV exposure compared to all those instances in your life where you've glanced directly at the Sun (whether with sunglasses or not)
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When you look at a total eclipse, you aren't looking directly at the sun, just indirectly via light scattering around the moon and Earth's atmosphere. When the sun starts to appear around the edge of the moon, you will be looking directly at the sun, which is bad.
 
Well this thread is stupid but thanks for reminding me to buy some shades before the price skyrockets
 
Micro Center's selling some Celestron glasses that have the ISO certification on the package.
 
[21CW]killerofall said:
When you look at a total eclipse, you aren't looking directly at the sun, just indirectly via light scattering around the moon and Earth's atmosphere. When the sun starts to appear around the edge of the moon, you will be looking directly at the sun, which is bad.
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And again... are you telling me no one in here has looked directly at the Sun at any time in their life? Now I'm not talking about staring at the Sun for minutes on end, but if you're smart enough to know once you see the sun's disk break around the edge of the Moon maybe stop looking at it.

I'm just saying that the amount of doom and gloom and scare is thrown WAY out of proportion, probably due to the vast numbers of people who will try to look at the eclipse, but the reality is it is not that different from looking at the Sun with your naked eye on any day of the year without an eclipse occurring.
 
sfsuphysics said:
And again... are you telling me no one in here has looked directly at the Sun at any time in their life? Now I'm not talking about staring at the Sun for minutes on end, but if you're smart enough to know once you see the sun's disk break around the edge of the Moon maybe stop looking at it.

I'm just saying that the amount of doom and gloom and scare is thrown WAY out of proportion, probably due to the vast numbers of people who will try to look at the eclipse, but the reality is it is not that different from looking at the Sun with your naked eye on any day of the year without an eclipse occurring.
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Are you willing to risk your eyesight on it? I know I am not.
 
It's OK, where I live there is a 100% chance it will be cloudy, because it is every single time something interesting is happening.
 
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