By Maureen Chowdhury, Antoinette Radford and Matt Meyer, CNN From CNN’s Ashley Strickland Almost seven years since a total solar eclipse arced over the US, it’s time to grab your eclipse glasses and enjoy watching one of the best celestial shows in the sky. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face. Those within the path of totality, or locations where the moon will completely cover the sun, will see a total solar eclipse. People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse, where the moon only blocks part of the sun’s face. During a total solar eclipse, the sky will darken as it would at dawn or dusk. Here’s the stage-by-stage guide on what to expect: From CNN’s Ashley Strickland Experts have been reminding spectators to grab a pair of eclipse glasses to view the total solar eclipse — and to make sure they aren’t fake. Counterfeit eclipse glasses are “polluting the marketplace,” according to a release shared by the American Astronomical Society, or AAS. The lenses of solar eclipse glasses are made of black polymer, or resin infused with carbon particles, that blocks nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, according to The Planetary Society. And sunglasses won’t work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers, according to a release by the American Optometric Association. Looking at the sun without properly made eclipse glasses can result in severe eye injury, from temporary vision impairment to permanent blindness. But the AAS has discovered the production of fraudulent eclipse glasses that won’t provide the necessary protection needed to view the sun safely without incurring eye damage. Here’s how to tell if your solar eclipse glasses are safe to wear: The counterfeit glasses might be hard to spot because they include information and even original artwork that suggest they were made by a known reputable manufacturer of the products, but different factories that have yet to be identified actually made them, according to the AAS. “APO is one of the major U.S. manufacturers of safe solar viewers and prints its name and address on its eclipse glasses, whereas the Chinese copycat products have APO’s name but not its address,” the AAS shared in a news release. But close tracking by the AAS revealed that more unidentified factories are producing counterfeit glasses printed with the name and address of a Chinese factory called Cangnan County Qiwei Craft Co., which creates safe products. Some of the fake glasses also include the name or logo of Solar Eclipse International, Canada, which is Qiwei’s North American distributor.
America gets ready for the total solar eclipse
