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Now that Monday’s celestial spectacle is over, millions of people in North America may find their eclipse glasses lying around the house.
For those lucky enough to witness this rare solar event, there may be no need to throw away gently used pairs of solar eclipse viewing glasses.
Eclipse glasses that meet a specific safety standard, known as ISO 12312-2, can be safely reused, according to the American Astronomical Society. This means that the same glasses worn during the 2024 total solar eclipse will serve as effective protection during the next 2026 total solar eclipse which will be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small part of Portugal and will appear as a partial eclipse in 2026. parts of Europe, Africa and North America.
The glasses may also protect eyes in 2044 during the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous United States, over North Dakota and Montana.
“It is best to store eclipse glasses away from any sharp objects that could scratch or puncture the filters, and if there is any doubt about the safety of your glasses when the next eclipse comes, it is better to throw away the glasses and buy a new pair,” said Dr. Kerry Hensley, editor-in-chief of AAS Nova and deputy press secretary for the company, in an email.
Do not reuse glasses if the lenses appear scratched, torn or punctured, or if the sun filter is detached from the frame, Hensley added. Dispose of damaged or scratched solar eclipse glasses by removing the lenses and recycling the cardboard, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The American Astronomical Society recommends against using water or liquid window cleaner to clean the lenses, as this may damage the cardboard and cause the lenses to come loose.
Although some glasses may include a warning to throw them away if they are more than three years old, the company says the warning is outdated and does not apply to eclipse glasses that meet the safety standard.
Where to donate solar eclipse glasses
If the owner of a pair of solar eclipse glasses doesn’t plan to travel the world to catch a glimpse of upcoming solar eclipses, there are several organizations that collect spectators with the goal of donating to those in the path of Events to come.
Eclipse Glasses USA, an American Astronomical Society-approved retailer of eclipse glasses, is collecting used but undamaged glasses to send to schools in Chile and Argentina that will be in the path of the annular eclipse of October 2024, otherwise known as the “Ring of Fire”, will be visible.
Astronomers Without Borders, a nonprofit that collected more than 2 million glasses after the 2017 total solar eclipse and redistributed hundreds of thousands of pairs before the 2024 eclipse, has a growing list drop-off points for donations of gently used glasses.
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