There are many Solar Eclipse glasses being sold as we prepare for the solar eclipse next Monday, Aug 21st. As a result, there have been many fake glasses that have hit the market. Amazon cracked down on counterfeit sellers and notified customers that had purchased solar eclipse glasses that were not for safe viewing. They do not meet the safety standards to view the eclipse. Also, no matter how dark your sunglasses may be, you cannot use regular sunglasses to view the eclipse safely.
If you’ve already bought glasses how do you know iif your eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers are truly safe? Look for: ISO 12312-2 (sometimes written as ISO 12312-2:2015) international safety standard on the side of glasses. Filters that are ISO 12312-2 compliant not only reduce visible sunlight to safe and comfortable levels but also block solar UV and IR radiation.
The American Astronomical Society has put together a list of manufacturers that produce solar eclipse sunglasses that are up to international safety standards. Check them out below. Here is Amazon’s Approved Vendor List
Solar Viewer Brands
- American Paper Optics (Eclipser) / EclipseGlasses.com / 3dglassesonline.com
- Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film)
- Celestron (EclipSmart Glasses & Viewers)
- DayStar (Solar Glasses)
- Halo Solar Eclipse Spectacles
- Lunt Solar Systems (SUNsafe SUNglasses) [see their unique kid-size eclipse glasses]
- Meade Instruments (EclipseView Glasses & Viewers)
- Rainbow Symphony (Eclipse Shades) [sold out]
- Seymour Solar (Helios Glasses)
- Solar Eclipse International / Cangnan County Qiwei Craft Co.* (plastic glasses only)
- Thousand Oaks Optical (Silver-Black Polymer & SolarLite)
- TSE 17 / 110th.de (Solar Filter Foil)*
