Watching the eclipse with glasses that haven't met certain qualifications can lead to eye damage. And, as retailers run out of eclipse glasses, some people are being duped by glasses that may look real, but that won't actually protect your eyes.
"It's a bunch of unscrupulous people cashing in on the eclipse and putting public safety at risk," Richard Fienberg, press officer for the American Astronomical Society (AAS), told Reuters.
One easy way to check if your eclipse glasses are safe is to see if they have the ISO logo on them. If your glasses have the logo, it means they've been verified by an accredited testing lab and they meet the necessary safety standards. If they don't, then you may have been scammed.
The AAS and NASA have also published a list of legitimate companies making certifiably-safe eclipse glasses.
These are the safe eclipse glasses brands that you should be buying:
- American Paper Optics (Eclipser) / EclipseGlasses.com / 3dglassesonline.com
- APM Telescopes (Sunfilter Glasses)
- Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film) (The AAS notes that Baader Planetarium's AstroSolar Safety Film and AstroSolar Photo Film is not meant to be used in an eclipse.)
- Celestron (EclipSmart Glasses & Viewers)
- DayStar (Solar Glasses)
- Explore Scientific (Solar Eclipse Sun Catcher Glasses)
- Lunt Solar Systems (SUNsafe SUNglasses), as well as kid-size eclipse glasses.
- 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)