Counterfeit eclipse glasses are selling online. How to spot fakes – National | 24CA News
As the thrill builds for the upcoming complete photo voltaic eclipse, warnings about counterfeit and pretend eclipse glasses are additionally popping up.
Looking straight on the solar with out correct safety can result in severe issues, resembling partial or full lack of eyesight, the Canadian Space Agency warns.
That is why it’s vital to get internationally licensed glasses that may forestall any harm to the eyes whenever you lookup, specialists say.
A complete photo voltaic eclipse happens when the moon passes between the solar and the Earth, aligning completely and utterly blocking the daylight. But any eclipse will begin and finish as a partial eclipse when the solar is just not hidden in totality.
“The problem with the eclipse (is that) because of that partial obstruction of the UV lights, we can actually look at the sun thinking, it’s okay because we’re not getting that same glare, discomfort that we usually get from the sun, and that’s when the damage actually occurs,” stated Samir Jabbour, an ophthalmologist and cornea specialist in Montreal.
“Damage can be done quite quickly just by looking at the sun for a few seconds and symptoms can start occurring within a couple weeks after the damage has occurred,” he stated in an interview with Global News.
In Kingston, which is getting ready for a complete photo voltaic eclipse on April 8, Queen’s University alerted residents about knockoff eclipse glasses.
“We have found that COUNTERFEIT eclipse glasses are being sold online to people in Kingston – faked to look like glasses sold by Solar Eclipse International, Canada (SEIC),” the college stated in a publish Tuesday on X.
“These glasses do NOT stop enough sunlight to be safe. You can tell by looking at household lights – if you can see the lights easily, these should be DISCARDED.”
The American Astronomical Society additionally issued a warning final week about counterfeit and pretend eclipse glasses “polluting the marketplace.”
Celestial Optical, a U.S.-based firm, says 1000’s of counterfeit variations of their eclipse glasses have been bought on Amazon.ca.
“Towards the middle of February, we noticed the marketplace was being flooded with counterfeits of our authentic EclipseGuard glasses,” stated Adam Levy, president of Celestial Optical, in an announcement to Global News.
“Thankfully, the problems on Amazon.ca have been solved, but for a three-week period, unscrupulous overseas seller accounts had hijacked our own product listings with ultra-discount pricing, pushing aside our own authentic and safe products.”
The firm estimates at the very least 10,000 packs or roughly 100,000 counterfeit variations of their eclipse glasses had been bought on-line, earlier than Amazon.ca took down these product listings.
“Sadly, we have seen counterfeits of products from other reputable manufacturers as well and it seems all counterfeits are missing the metallic layer on the sun facing side,” Levy stated.
An Amazon spokesperson instructed Global News that it repeatedly monitor its retailer and takes motion to keep up a secure choice for patrons, together with eradicating non-compliant merchandise.
Meanwhile, Health Canada instructed Global News that it has not acquired any studies of faux or counterfeit photo voltaic eclipse glasses being bought within the nation.
Which eclipse glasses are secure?
Many Canadians will get to witness the entire photo voltaic eclipse, the primary to cross the nation since 1979.
On April 8, the photo voltaic eclipse’s path of totality will cross by elements of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Cities and cities outdoors the trail of totality will see a partial photo voltaic eclipse.
People watching an eclipse needs to be carrying particular glasses that meet the protection necessities of the ISO 12312-2 worldwide commonplace.
Having the ISO commonplace means these glasses are inspected for security and damaging rays gained’t undergo them, stated Mark Eltis, a Toronto-based optometrist, in a earlier interview with Global News.
A road vendor sells certificated solar glasses to observe the entire photo voltaic eclipse in Pucon, Chile on December 12, 2020.
Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP through Getty Images
According to the AAS, this commonplace is about primarily based on a number of properties resembling transmittance, uniformity of transmittance, materials and floor high quality, mounting and labeling.
However, even counterfeit or pretend eclipse glasses and different photo voltaic viewers could be labeled as ISO-compliant with out being correctly examined for security, specialists say.
“You’re going to find a lot of merchants that might be selling these online, and they might claim that they have this protection, but we’re not really sure if they’re actually well protected,” Jabbour stated.
He stated one of the best ways discover dependable retailers for secure eclipse sun shades are by checking the record of suppliers vetted by the American Astronomical Society. It consists of a number of licensed sellers in Canada.
Jabbour stated you also needs to be sure that the glasses you get should not scratched as a result of that may permit the ultraviolet (UV) gentle to enter your retina and trigger harm.
Without a lab check, it’s tough for the bare eye to inform if a pair of eclipse glasses meet the ISO commonplace, since any vendor can slap the ISO emblem on their product.
That is why getting them from a dependable supply is vital, Jabbour stated.
However, there are some pink flags to be careful for.
Joanne Hostetter, an worker with Explore Scientific, works on getting ready Sun Catcher photo voltaic eclipse glasses to ship out to prospects from the Explore Scientific retailer Tuesday Jan. 30, 2024, in Springdale, Ark.
AP Photo/Michael Woods
Levy, of Celestial Optical, stated that counterfeits of their eclipse glasses don’t present their identify and handle, which is a requirement of the ISO specification.
The sun-facing aspect of their glasses additionally has a metallic coating important for secure photo voltaic viewing, not like counterfeits, which generally have matte black lenses on either side, the corporate famous in a March 19 news launch.
The AAS says on its web site that you just shouldn’t be capable to see something by correct eclipse glasses, apart from very vivid lights, which ought to seem very faint by the glasses.
“If you can see anything else, such as household furnishings or pictures on the wall, your glasses aren’t dark enough for solar viewing.”
You may also check the glasses outdoors on a sunny day and be sure that the solar’s reflection off the floor seems very faint, AAS says.
And in the event you briefly look straight on the solar with official eclipse eyewear, you must see a sharp-edged, spherical disk that’s comfortably vivid.
How to observe the eclipse safely
Regular sun shades shouldn’t be worn whereas wanting on the eclipse, specialists say.
Eltis means that whenever you put your particular eclipse glasses on, you must look down on the floor earlier than wanting up on the solar, after which look down once more after viewing the eclipse.
While it could be tempting to take off your eclipse glasses on the time of totality — which can final between one and 4 minutes — Eltis cautioned that it could possibly be harmful if you’re undecided when precisely the entire photo voltaic eclipse is going on. Even a sliver of daylight can do harm to the eyes.
If you’re frightened about straight wanting on the eclipse, you can even view it not directly by a pinhole projector.
Children needs to be totally supervised through the eclipse, each Eltis and Jabbour careworn.
— With information from Global News’ Katherine Ward and Eric Stober
