With all the hype surrounding the solar eclipse, it's no surprise some folks are out to make an unscrupulous buck at the cost of people's eyes. Amazon is flooded with fake Chinese glasses that don't meet any safety standards. Here's a WaPo article with a list of trusted brands and vendors of eclipse glasses. Vendors may be selling ‘fake’ solar eclipse glasses. Here’s how to make sure yours are real.
Thanks for the timely warning @Gauri03 . So are you the lucky one who lives in the path or are you travelling too?
Ha ha not so lucky but definitely traveling to a sleepy little Midwestern town to view the eclipse. Our neighboring state which is in the path of totality doesn't have room to accommodate any more travelers. People are offering their driveways to RV drivers for, wait for it, $900 for a few hours! AirBnB has rooms for $2k a night! The local DOT is warning of epic traffic jams. We gave up and called some friends in the Midwest who were sweet enough to have us over for the eclipse. I can only hope the weather doesn't play truant. The next such eclipse will be in 2045. I probably won't be around anymore. Don't want to miss this one!
Yeah heard about planned highway closings near where we are headed also. A few days ago , around 10:30 pm, we got a call from a friend who lives further up North asking about our plans. he told us he was not getting any rooms. So we offered one of ours and are going to make some adjustments. Folks are already out camping in mountains and open areas. Now only mother nature should not ruin it for us all. Let's pray.
Solar eclipses have a special place in my heart. Just before I got married, India's south west (Northern Karnatake/Goa...) witnessed total solar eclipse. We, in Chennai, witnessed partial. When the eclipse began, I noticed that the sunlight falling on one wall showed the shadow - it was a pin hole camera. So I began documenting the shape and the time and the path of the sun. drawing an outline at every 2-3 seconds for full duration of the eclipse. A month or so later my husband and his family came to our home for the "penn paarthal" ( bride seeing ceremony) While we were all conversing generally, my husband noticed this wall and asked if it was the solar eclipse and who tracked this. When I said it was I, his face turned bright with pleasure. Then he went on to say he traveled to Hampi to see the total eclipse in person and described the fabulous experience. I was very pleased that here was someone who understood the importance and appreciated this celestial event. That decided it for me; later he told me that he was happy at my eclipse tracking and it was one of the factors that decided it for him too. That is the story Of two folks crazy who joined in holy matrimony. Maybe I should post this in snippets. (An article on solar eclipse coming up soon in my space thread. Mars is still under works)
In reality, I am out of the country at the time it happens. So it is all a sour grapes kind of deal for me. I have local friends who have rented a caravan - sleeps six, has bathroom, kitchen with fridge/freezer etc.. And can put several easy chairs on the roof of that minibus to sit down and gaze up. They promised home videos of their trip to Missouri, or wherever that national park where they have a reservation for a parking spot.
