Subject Amazon Recalls Eclipse Viewing Glasses.
Amazon recently announced that they will be recalling many of the eclipse viewing glasses sold on their website. You will be receiving an email from Amazon if you have purchased non-approved eclipse glasses – do not use them! Apparently, several manufacturers selling eclipse glasses through Amazon either cannot prove that they are distributing safe, approved eclipse glasses or they are falsely stating that the glasses are safe. Many of these non-approved glasses even have the ISO 12312-2 standard compliance deceptively stamped on them.Click here for eclipse recall.
This is a very unfortunate and possibly dangerous situation for those who think they have safe eclipse viewing glasses. Also assuming that hundreds of thousands of eclipse glasses were sold to unsuspecting customers who now can’t view the eclipse and time is very short to get replacement glasses which have gone up dramatically in price. Amazon is offering complete refunds but no replacements. Legitimate manufacturers are also hurt by this fraud as many of these fake glasses are using their names, logos and safety certifications. This is resulting in legitimate eclipse glasses being impounded by Amazon and other distributors even though they are safe.
There is no way for the consumer to determine if the eclipse glasses are legitimate. The only way to ensure that you have effective eclipse viewing glasses is to order them directly from this list of NASA approved manufacturers: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters
Unfortunately, the 100 sets of eclipse viewing glasses that we ordered through Amazon for our Eclipse Event came under the recall. I found out about this just yesterday and was very displeased to say the least!!! Luckily, I was able to order 25 sets from one of the NASA approved manufacturers and we should have them for the eclipse next Monday. Our initial plan was to give everyone attending their own set of eclipse glasses but may have to share depending on attendance. I will still be setting up my telescope and binoculars set up with solar filters which actually give a better view of the eclipse than the glasses.
Even if you are observing the eclipse through approved eclipse glasses or filters, I would still recommend maximum viewing time of one minute followed by several minutes of looking away from the sun. This would also reduce the chance of eye injury (solar retinopathy) if you’re viewing glasses not up to standards.
Please call us with any questions and looking forward to seeing you at our Eclipse Event August 21st, 11:30 am to 2:30pm.
Dr. Steve
