Turn around, bright eyes: A total eclipse requires total protection: These will help you safely check out this very very special event.
You’ve probably heard the buzz: A solar eclipse will be visible from the U.S. on the afternoon of Monday, April 8, and now’s the time to prepare. Solar eclipses happen up to five times a year, according to NASA. However, where you’re located dictates whether you can get in on the astronomical action. While everyone in the lower 48 states will be able to see at least a partial eclipse, folks in several states will be treated to something much more dramatic: totality, when the moon completely blocks the sun (for more on the eclipse and what you’ll see in your region, read our full eclipse guide.)
A total solar eclipse is a big deal, and it’s understandable to want to get in on the spectacle. But you’ve probably heard that staring at the sun can do serious damage to your eyes — and you heard right. “It is not good to look directly at the sun at any time,” said Aaron Zimmerman, a clinical professor at Ohio State University’s College of Optometry. “The sun is so bright that permanent damage to the retina — the back of the eye — can occur if viewed for too long. And too long can be seconds in duration.”
Your eyes can recover from very short exposures to the sun (like, less than a few seconds), Zimmerman said. But short glimpses of the sun can also add up. “With eclipses lasting two and half hours, a few glimpses may add up to a significant amount of exposure,” he said. And “there is no known cure for eclipse-related vision loss.”
The good news: You don’t have to sit back and twiddle your thumbs while this impressive event is happening above you. Special solar eclipse glasses allow you to check out the action safely. But since knock-offs are inevitable and everywhere, you need to choose carefully.
What are solar eclipse glasses?
Solar eclipse glasses block all but a tiny fraction of the sun’s UV, visible, and infrared light, letting through only a safe amount that produces a comfortably bright view, said Richard Tresch Fienberg, project manager at American Astronomical Society Solar Eclipse Task Force and co-author of Astronomy For Dummies.
“Typically, solar filters let through somewhere between about one part in 100,000 — that’s 0.001% — and one part in 2 million of the sun’s visible light, producing a solar image that’s only about as bright as a full moon,” Feinberg said. “Eclipse glasses are at least 1,000 times darker than even the darkest ordinary sunglasses.”
How to find safe solar eclipse glasses
Your vision is not something you want to mess with, which is why it’s so important to do your homework. “Safe solar viewers are those that comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard for filters for direct observation of the sun,” Fienberg said.
The only way to truly know if glasses comply with the standard is to have them tested by an accredited lab, but “there are very few labs accredited to test for compliance with ISO 12312-2,” Feinberg said. His organization has put together a list of glasses and viewers that meet this standard.
“If you have eclipse glasses that are safe — that is, that comply with the ISO 12312-2 standard — then you can look through them for as long as you want without risk to your eyes,” Feinberg said. “But, practically speaking, the best way to watch the progress of a partial solar eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, is to take a brief look every few minutes.” The moon moves so slowly across the sun that looking at the eclipse the whole time isn’t all that exciting, he said.
Zimmerman recommended cross-referencing any solar eclipse glasses that you’re considering with the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force list to make sure they’re from a reputable company. This is important, since there are already companies selling glasses online that claim to be certified, but aren’t. “The eclipse glasses should all have International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2 labeling somewhere on the glasses. Make sure to find that label,” Zimmerman said.
Overwhelmed? Don’t be. Here are a few options that meet that all-important safety standard.
Amazon
Soluna’s glasses are made in the U.S. by American Paper Optics and are recognized as ISO-compliant by the American Astronomical Society. The glasses have scratch-resistant silver polymer lenses and clearly state that they meet ISO standards.
MKs solar specs come in a 10-pack, so you can pass them out to family and friends. The inside of the glasses clearly states that they’re ISO-certified. The kit even shows you how to create a special lens for your phone’s camera.
Want more traditional glasses for your eclipse-viewing party? This three-pack from Eclipsee (get it?) has plastic frames for a sturdier feel. They’re scratch-resistant and one size fits most.
These solar eclipse glasses from Kesseph have a cool eclipse graphic on the side and ISO certification spelled out inside. Crease lines on the sides help you get a snug fit. The 10-pack comes with a phone-camera-lens filter.
Snag a five-pack for your family with Celestron EclipSmart’s solar eclipse glasses. Each has creases to fold for a better fit, and the ISO certification is clearly marked inside.
Got kids at home? SEIC’s five pack offers three shades for children, along with two adult versions. The kids’ versions come in a fun orange color. All of these glasses are ISO-certified.
Just shopping for a younger crowd? Lunt’s ISO certified junior solar eclipse glasses are designed for smaller faces. They also have an adorable graphic motif that kids will love.
You don’t want to mess with your vision, which is why it’s a good idea to test the glasses before the eclipse. “Try to view your cell phone flashlight or by looking at a bright light in your house,” Zimmerman said. “You should barely be able to see those lights.”
If you’re wearing the right eyewear, you should be able to view the eclipse comfortably, Zimmerman said. “If you cannot comfortably view the stages of the partial eclipse, then your eclipse glasses may not be functioning properly,” he added. If that’s the case, stop looking at the eclipse immediately.
Are you living in the in the path of “totality”? You’ll have a period of about two to three minutes when the sun is fully blocked and you can see the eclipse without eye protection, Zimmerman said. “Once the sun begins to be exposed again, it’s in a partial eclipse and you’ll need to put your eclipse glasses on,” he said.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
