Safe eclipse glasses a must for viewing
Connecticut won’t get the full eclipse experience when the moon passes in front of the sun on Monday, but that does not mean it’s safe to look.
There is a brief moment, when the sun is completely covered by the moon, when it’s safe to look. But that won’t happen in Connecticut.
“Except during a brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” John D. Frassinelli, state Department of Education School Health, Child Nutrition, and Family Services director, said in a memo to district superintendents. “Since there will not be a total solar eclipse occurring in Connecticut, there is no safe time to view the event without specialized glasses or filters.”
“Viewing any part of the bright sun, even through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics, will instantly cause severe eye injury,” he said.
According to Frassinelli, “The path of the eclipse in Connecticut will result in approximately 90 percent of the sun being blocked by the moon at the height of the event,” at about 3:35 p.m. The deepest darkness, which should be similar to the light levels at dusk, will last about two minutes.
Eclipse glasses are being sold in many places, both online and in stores in Connecticut.
Lowe’s, Walmart, Target and Staples are among the major retailers selling eclipse glasses, and companies like Warby Parker are giving them away for free, as are libraries across Connecticut, including in Norfolk and Madison, Norwalk, Simsbury and East Hartford, among others.
According to the American Astronomical Society, “the only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as ‘eclipse glasses.’” And not all eclipse glasses are the same.
“Safe solar viewers block all but a minuscule fraction of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV), visible, and infrared (IR) light,” the AAS wrote. “Overexposure to sunlight in these parts of the spectrum can cause severe eye injury, ranging from temporarily impaired vision to permanent blindness.”
The AAS has released a list of eclipse glasses manufacturers in the United States, including Thousand Oaks Optical, American Paper Optics, Celestial Optical and Halo Eclipse Spectacles, and has warned of fake and counterfeit eclipse glasses being sold.
If you’re not sure that your eclipse glasses are good enough for safe viewing, the society suggests putting them on indoors. “You shouldn’t be able to see anything through them, except perhaps very bright lights, which should appear very faint through the glasses. If you can see anything else, such as household furnishings or pictures on the wall, your glasses aren’t dark enough for solar viewing.”
Then, take your glasses outside on a sunny day. Again, if items are anything but faintly seen, the glasses are not sufficient for use during the eclipse.
While there’s no way to tell just by looking at them if the glasses are safe, Rick Fienberg, project manager of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force wrote that, “Solar filters are at least 1,000 times darker than even the darkest regular sunglasses.”