Counterfeit eclipse glasses are selling online. How to spot fakes
As the excitement builds for the upcoming total solar eclipse, warnings about counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are also popping up.
Looking directly at the sun without proper protection can lead to serious problems, such as partial or complete loss of eyesight, the Canadian Space Agency warns.
That is why it’s important to get internationally certified glasses that can prevent any damage to the eyes when you look up, experts say.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, aligning perfectly and completely blocking the sunlight. But any eclipse will start and end as a partial eclipse when the sun is 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,” said 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 said in an interview with Global News.
In Kingston, which is preparing for a total solar 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 university said in a post 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
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