Eclipse. Did you find any 1999 glasses at home? Are they still safe?

Aare you hunting for glasses to see the total eclipse of the sun next week? The Ciência Viva agency revealed that the copies it had for free distribution have exhausted. However, you can still find them for sale in some shops and pharmacies. A few years ago, in 1999, it was possible to see in Portugal the last solar eclipse of the millennium, partially. At the time, the madness of the glasses was too much. You kept a few of these years? Can you use them at the eclipse next August 12th?

If you've kept some filter glasses since then and think they're in perfect condition to see the next eclipse, it's best to think carefully whether you're going to wear them or not. You may feel that this type of article does not expire when you have no identification of the validity. However, NASA leaves a warning in this regard.

Eclipse. Old glasses are safe?

“ Some glasses/viewers bring printed warnings and inform that you should not look through them for more than 3 minutes at a time and should discard them if they are more than 3 years old”, explains NASA here quoted by the website Solar eclipses.

Read Also: You can go blind! NASA leaves safety recommendations to see eclipse

The “ISO 12312-2” is of utmost importance to ensure that the glasses are in a position to be worn. On the other hand, other parameters must be taken into account when it comes to seeing whether the glasses are in good condition to observe the eclipse.

The Solar Eclipsis website warns you that you may have sweated when you used them last time, doubled or bent them or even pulled them out and put them back in your pocket several times. What kind of environment have they been left in all these years? These are some of the questions you should ask.

“Are you sure they didn't get scratches or, worse still, little holes? ? Remember: any damage makes them unsafe for use, so this is a crucial consideration for the safety of your eyes”, they continue.

So the ideal is always to discard as soon as they pass the validity, even if they were all well-stocked years. “The new glasses meet current safety standards. Regardless of your decision, be sure to consider the importance of eye safety and how simple it is to protect your eyes if you do so correctly.”

Watch out for counterfeit glasses

Mark Margolis, manufacturer of sunscreens, alerts for “flooding” of counterfeit glasses and tells Inside Edition that looking at the sun with this type of uncertified glasses “can cause a burn in the retina”.

In a CBS News report, astronomer Rick Fienberg of the American Astronomical Society and NASA scientist Alex Young make it clear that the damage caused by this type of “false glasses can be permanent.”.

To People magazine, the American Astronomical Society clarifies that the problem of these fake glasses is that “they do not block visible and infrared UV radiation, exposing the user to serious eye lesions and permanent blindness”, which can affect activities such as reading or driving.