How to tell real eclipse glasses from fakes, according to experts – By Ariana Garcia (Chron) / March 16, 2024
Houston optometrist Dr. Cuong Tran on what to look for when buying protective eyewear for the solar event, and how to spot a counterfeit.
A once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse will grace the Texas skies on April 8, 2024. However, for those wanting to catch a glimpse of the cosmic spectacle happening above, proper eye protection is of the utmost importance. The only safe method to watch as the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon is to use handheld solar filters or eclipse glasses, according to Dr. Cuong Tran, an optometrist at Pearland Eye Care in the Houston area.
That means using sunglasses or other unapproved eyewear is out of the question if you want to retain your eyesight. If you wear prescription eyeglasses, you will also need to put your eclipse glasses over them. “Any other methods, such as viewing with unapproved filter, dark sunglasses, or even doubling up on sunglasses is simply not enough to protect your eyes and can lead to temporary or permanent vision loss,” Tran told Chron. “In fact, eclipse glasses are thousands of times darker than sunglasses.”
The only time during the stellar event when eclipse glasses don’t have to be used is briefly during totality, the brief moment when the Moon’s shadow covers the Sun. However, in Houston, which is located outside of the path of totality and will only get a partial view of the eclipse, it’s not safe at any time to watch without eclipse glasses. To be on the safe side, Tran said he advises his patients, who are mostly based in Houston, to keep eclipse glasses on throughout the eclipse.
CONTINUE > https://www.chron.com/news/space/article/solar-eclipse-glasses-18964924.php
