On Monday afternoon we will be able to see a solar eclipse of the sun. A map of the eclipse’s path, from NASA, here. See how the eclipse will look in your area here.
The eclipse should not be viewed without special glasses. Without the cheap, cardboard, eclipse, glasses you may damage the retina of the eye. Since we have no pain sensors in our retinas damage can occur without us even being aware of it. So where can we procrastinators still find the glasses? The Washington Post has some suggestions, with a bit of a warning, call first as supplies sell out quickly.
Surprisingly many of the 7-11’s around the area have the glasses. If your local store doesn’t have them, try another nearby 7-11. Some Warby Parker stores may have the glasses but call first. Some libraries are giving out the glasses. Try local hardware stores. Also, check with these stores, they may have them but call before making a trip:
Walmart ($1.00)
Best Buy
HobbyTown
Kirklands
Kroger
Lowe’s
Maverik
Pilot/Flying J
Toys “R” Us
Finally, make sure your glasses are dark enough.
“You shouldn’t be able to see anything through a safe solar filter except the Sun itself or something comparably bright, such as the Sun reflected in a mirror, a sunglint off shiny metal, the hot filament of an unfrosted incandescent light bulb, a bright halogen light bulb, a bright-white LED flashlight (including the one on your smartphone), or an arc-welder’s torch,” the AAS wrote in its press release. “All such sources should appear quite dim through a solar viewer.”
Enjoy this rare eclipse!
12 comments
A A fellow Loudoun republican said you could turn your back to the sun and put your cell phone in selfie mode and look a the eclipse that way. He says it won’t damage the screen. I have a Samsung Galaxy 7. Can anyone confirm this is okay to do tomorrow?
This article says it’s okay to use an Iphone http://www.ajc.com/news/national/safe-take-selfie-with-the-solar-eclipse-how-the-right-way/gtUghLhBHf30jlc6eGCuzO/
shadowandsubstance.com has a great site that shows the path of the eclipse and the various percentages of eclipse by state. Worth a look.
A welder’s helmet with at least a 12 shade visor will also allow you to view the eclipse safely.
Yay eclipse, any excuse to party! 🙂
Speaking of which … November will be here soon, time for a 1 year anniv. Trump election party! I think a good theme party would be to replay MSNBC coverage from the time the polls started to close until after they had to start saying “President Trump”. It would be fun to have a party, eat some good food, with friends, and watching Democrats cry on television, watch Rachel Maddow get that stupid grin wiped off of her smug face again. BBQ chips and liberal tears!
The boys in High School welding or the FFA will be able to use a welders shield/helmet or goggles.
Make a solar eclipse pin hole camera out of a Pringles can. No, don’t look through the hole.
Pretend the sun is CNN, and don’t watch it.
Google “solar eclipse” and look at the photos.
Been there done that survived the war. No glasses. Best idea is don’t look directly at the sun – ever. Heard that some of the solar eclipse glasses made in China don’t work.
Yeah, but nearly every one of those China glasses will have Made in the USA printed on them, just like their bags of dog treats.
This is like razor blades in candy at Halloween … often discussed, rarely (never ?) seen …
You will see even less now that the government got rid of origin labeling.
Never let the kids eat it before you have checked things out. I believe the milky way and snicker bars are always dangerous so I test them completely.