Photo by Rob Stothard

In case you’ve somehow managed to avoid the growing hype, on August 21, a solar eclipse will pass over the United States. And to protect your eyesight when staring into the sun, you’ll need protective glasses. Naturally, though, there are already sketchy retailers out there peddling counterfit eclipse-watching gear, that might not appropriately protect your vision. A post from Quartz warned against counterfeit eclipse glasses that are being sold on Amazon by companies that don’t normally make astronomical gear. One seller, for example, also sold fidget spinners. (Of course they did.)


According to NASA, you should check if your glasses fit these criteria:

Have certification information with a designated ISO 12312-2 international standard

Have the manufacturer’s name and address printed somewhere on the product

Not be used if they are older than three years, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses

be used if they are older than three years, or have scratched or wrinkled lenses Not use homemade filters or be substituted for with ordinary sunglasses — not even very dark ones — because they are not safe for looking directly at the Sun


The American Astronomical Society has approved these five brands for buying eclipse glasses: American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.﻿ However, many counterfeit companies also use the names of the approved companies on their glasses. NASA and the American Astronomical Society will approve more brands in an upcoming post, and retail stores like Walmart will likely soon begin selling approved eclipse-viewing glasses.

These counterfeits aren’t necessarily dangerous to use, but there just isn’t a guarantee that they’ll protect your eyes.

Solar-eclipse fever means counterfeit glasses are flooding Amazon’s market | Quartz