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:
According to an Amazon safety notification… the e-commerce giant has removed the pages for products it could not verify met minimum standards including “MASCOTKING Solar Eclipse Glasses 2017 – CE and ISO Certified Safe Shades for Direct Sun Viewing — Eye Protection.” It is also offering refunds to customers who have purchased those products.
So, how do you spot fakes? The good news is that it’s simple. The filtering effects of the standard are so strong that if they meet the qualifications, the sun should be literally the only thing you see when you wear them. So if you put them on in a normally lit room and can still see the lights, they’re not safe to use. If you’re buying in person, try them on in the store. If it’s not blackout conditions, don’t buy them.
If your glasses turn out to be fake on the big day, don’t despair. You can make an eclipse viewer with a thumbtack and two notecards, and see what’s happening with ease. And it’ll probably be a lot easier to find two note cards than legit glasses on the day itself.
(via Gizmodo)