The total solar eclipse is coming soon — April 8,2024. If you’re lucky enough to be able to watch it from the path of totality, you’re going to need solar eclipse glasses to protect your eyes while staring at the sun.
Solar eclipse glasses are special glasses that block out the most dangerous parts of the solar spectrum for human eyes. When you look through them, the sun should appear as an easy-to-view yellow-orange circle. Be aware that these glasses will block out all light — so you won’t use these glasses while walking, driving or doing anything but eclipse viewing.
However, there are some bad actors out there who sell eclipse glasses that don’t actually do anything to protect your eyes from the sun. So, if you’re viewing the eclipse in any capacity this year, you’re going to want to make sure that your eyes are really being protected. Read on to find out about the steps you can take to make sure your solar eclipse glasses are legit.
According to the American Astronomical Society, a real and safe pair of solar eclipse glasses should be labeled with ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written in more detail as ISO 12312-2:2015), which is an international safety standard that denotes the glasses reduce visible sunlight to safe levels and block UV and IR radiation.