Online retailer Amazon.com has issued a warning to some customers who bought solar eclipse glasses that they might be fake.
Viewing an eclipse wearing eyewear that does not meet safety requirements can cause serious damage to eyes, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) warned. Ordinary sunglasses, binoculars and telescopes are not safe for viewing the eclipse.
All of North America will be under an eclipse of the sun on Monday. Those in the path of totality, from Salem, Ore., to Charleston, S.C., will see a total solar eclipse, where the moon will cover the sun completely. People outside this path will see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk.
Using glasses or a special solar filter are the only safe way to look at a partially eclipsed or uneclipsed sun. NASA instructs people to “Always supervise children using solar filters.”
According to posted safety requirements, sellers of eclipse glasses on Amazon must provide a document from a nationally recognized testing laboratory confirming that their glasses were tested and meet ISO 12312-2: 2015.
Compliant eclipse glasses will have the “ISO 12312-2” label, but fake products also might have the ISO number. To verify whether eclipse glasses are compliant, visit https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters.
