[go: up one dir, main page]

Suppliers of Safe Solar Viewers & Filters

Solar Filters and Viewers

Here you'll find links to selected suppliers of solar viewers and filters that you can be confident are safe when used properly. These include companies and organizations with which members of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force have had good experience as well as other companies and organizations that have demonstrated to our satisfaction that the products they're selling meet the safety requirements of the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

We have pared down our list to give preference to North American manufacturers and importers and their major authorized resellers; after all, the April 8th solar eclipse is almost exclusively a North American event, and this site is a service of the American Astronomical Society. We also highlight some German companies that astronomers all over the world have been patronizing contentedly for decades.

If you don't see a vendor listed on this page, it does not mean their products are unsafe — with so many sellers out there, it's impossible for us to vet them all.

Important: We do not recommend searching for eclipse glasses on Amazon, eBay, Temu, or any other online marketplace and buying from whichever vendor offers the lowest price. Before you buy a solar viewer or filter online, we recommend that you make sure that (1) the seller is identified on the site and (2) the seller is listed on this page.

For instructions on how to observe the Sun safely, see our main safety page and our pages on pinhole and optical projection and viewing through optics.

Eclipse Glasses & Handheld Solar Viewers | Solar Filters for Optics | Solar Filters for Smartphones | Solar Optical Projectors

Eclipse Glasses, Handheld Solar Viewers & Solar Filter Sheets/Rolls

The following companies manufacture or import eclipse glasses, clip-on solar viewers, handheld solar viewers, and/or sheets or rolls of solar-filter material for direct viewing of the Sun's bright face. Some offer custom printing, though the number that do is rapidly dwindling as the April 8th solar eclipse approaches and manufacturers reach capacity. We have intentionally randomized the listings within each subsection so as not to give an unfair advantage to companies whose names put them near the top of alphabetized lists. The order of listings will be randomly shuffled once a week through the beginning of April.

Be sure to read our safety tips before using eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers.

North American & European Manufacturers

These companies manufacture their own solar-filter film and/or use one of the other companies' films to produce eclipse glasses and/or handheld solar viewers, except as noted below.

*This company manufactures its glasses in Latvia.

**This U.S. company produces innovative 3-in-1 interchangeable blue-light-blockers + sunglasses + eclipse glasses that remain wearable post-eclipse. They feature detachable, safe solar filters responsibly sourced from China that comply with the transmittance requirements of the ISO 12312-2 standard.

^This U.S. company's eclipse glasses incorporate ISO-compliant filter material that is made in the U.S. but finished, cut, and mounted in frames by a Chinese manufacturing partner.

North American Telescope Companies

These well-known companies sell branded solar viewers made for them by one or more of the manufacturers listed above.

North American Importers from Germany

These well-known companies sell solar viewers or sheets of solar-filter material made for them by long-established manufacturers in Germany.

Authorized Dealers of Products Made in North America or Germany

The following companies and organizations sell products made or imported by one or more of the companies listed above. Most are in North America, but we include some in other parts of the world in case people there want to buy locally before traveling to North America for the April 8th solar eclipse. When a country is listed in parentheses, it indicates the seller's primary market, but in most cases they'll ship worldwide. (Note that international shipping may be subject to delays and extra costs.)

North American Large Retail Chains

Some (not all) locations of the following retail chains sell ISO-compliant safe eclipse glasses and/or handheld viewers made by one or more of the companies listed at the top of this page, so you can confidently buy solar viewers if you find them in their stores — but not necessarily on their websites, as some chains use different suppliers for their websites than they do for their stores. (If you can tell that a chain's website is selling one of the brands listed elsewhere on this page, go for it!) Links are provided here to help you locate the retail store nearest you:

(Mostly) North American Importers and Dealers of Products Manufactured in China

The vendors in the list below sell products manufactured in China. The most-used factories include Cangnan County Qiwei Craft Co., Ltd.; Hangzhou Retsing Eyewear Co., Ltd. (wholesale only); Jaxy Optical Instruments Co., Ltd. (wholesale only); Shenzhen Lionstar Technology Co., Ltd. (wholesale only); and Shenzhen Shihui Tongda Technology Co., Ltd. (selling both wholesale and retail [direct to consumers] and shipping from North American warehouses). We link only to the factories with websites that support direct wholesale and/or retail sales. In the following list, when a country is listed in parentheses, it indicates the seller's primary market.

SEAL LogoFree Eclipse Glasses for Libraries

The STAR Library Network (STAR Net), managed by the Space Science Institute, is offering free eclipse glasses along with supporting information, training, and ideas for activities to conduct at eclipse events at U.S. public libraries. Learn more on the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (SEAL) website. If you're a librarian, you can register to participate. If you're an eclipse enthusiast looking for free eclipse glasses, check with your local library to see if they've got any.

Other Sources of Solar Viewers

What if you received eclipse glasses or a handheld solar viewer from a relative, friend, neighbor, or acquaintance? If that person is an amateur or professional astronomer — and astronomers have been handing out eclipse viewers like Halloween candy lately — they're almost certainly ISO-compliant, because astronomers get their solar filters from sources they know and trust (for example, the ones listed on this page). Ditto for professional astronomical organizations (including college and university physics and astronomy departments) and amateur-astronomy clubs.

If you bought or were given eclipse viewers at a science museum or planetarium, or at an astronomy trade show, again you're almost certainly in possession of ISO-compliant filters. As long as you can trace your filters to a manufacturer listed above, you have nothing to worry about. What you absolutely should not do is search for eclipse glasses on the internet and buy whatever pops up in the ads or search results. Buy from one of the sources listed on this page.

Solar Filters for Telescopes, Binoculars & Camera Lenses

Solar filters for optics are meant to go over the aperture, i.e., the front opening, and should be used only by experienced observers. We have intentionally randomized these listings \so as not to give an unfair advantage to companies whose names put them near the top of alphabetized lists. The order of listings will be randomly shuffled once a week through the beginning of April. We have intentionally randomized the listings within each subsection so as not to give an unfair advantage to companies whose names put them near the top of alphabetized lists. The order of listings will be randomly shuffled once a week through the beginning of April. Be sure to read our safety tips before using solar filters with optics!

Unsafe Eyepiece Solar FilterWarning: Solar filters designed to thread into an eyepiece at the back end of the telescope — where you put your eye — are dangerous; sunlight concentrated by your optics could destroy it and injure your eye in a flash — literally. If you have such a filter, such as the example shown at right, discard it. We'll say it again: A solar filter must be attached to the front of your telescope, binoculars, or camera lens.

To find telescopes and binoculars specially made for observing the Sun, see the Special-Purpose Solar Binoculars & Telescopes section of our Telescopes & Binoculars page.

Solar Filters for Smartphones

The following products include safe solar filters and Velcro or other fasteners that enable you to temporarily secure a filter over the lens(es) of your smartphone camera.

  • Solar Snap (Doug Duncan & American Paper Optics; made in the U.S.)
    • This is the first such product to appear on the market. Using the accompanying Solar Snap app, which is available for free in versions for iPhones and Android phones, you can easily choose appropriate exposure settings to shoot photos of the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun through the included solar filter. You can use the app to capture images of the totally eclipsed Sun, too, but you'll need to remove the filter during totality or your images will be blank.
  • SafeShot (Grafix Arts / Grafix Plastics; made in the U.S.)
    • Made of heavy-duty cardboard, this product has two solar filters: a dark visual filter that you can look through and a lighter filter for your smartphone's camera; this means you can take pictures and view the Sun at the same time. Instructions on the SafeShot website explain how to use your phone's native camera app or a third-party camera app to dial in the appropriate exposure settings. Thanks to the light photographic filter, you should be able to capture images of the inner corona during totality without having to detach your smartphone from the device.
  • Smartphone Camera Filter (VisiSolar; made in China)
    • This is like Solar Snap (see above) but without the app, i.e., just a solar filter that covers your smartphone's camera lenses. Of course, you can use the free Solar Snap app with it if you wish. You must remove the filter if you want to shoot any pictures during totality! The filter is only for use during the partial phases of the eclipse or when no eclipse is happening. Sources of a similar device: East Fox Studio, Tember Camera Solar Filter / Rezos LLC.
  • Cell Phone Solar Viewer (Solares, LLC; made in China)
    • Like SafeShot (see above) but made of lighter-weight cardboard, this product includes two solar filters so that you can shoot photos and view the Sun with your eyes at the same time. But in this case both filters are dark enough for visual use, so you'll have to disconnect your smartphone from the cardboard if you want to shoot images during totality. With all such products, advance experimentation on the uneclipsed Sun and the full Moon (which is about as bright as the totally eclipsed Sun) is the key to successful imaging, whether using the Solar Snap app (which will work with any of these products), your smartphone's native camera app, or a third-party camera app. Other sources of similar devices: Absolute Eclipse; Solar Eclipse International, Canada.

    Solar Optical Projectors

    The following devices are used for indirect solar observation. They use lenses and mirrors to project an image of the Sun onto a white surface. In other words, you don't look through them — you look at them. Be sure to read our safety tips before using a solar optical projector!

    And check out the Sun Funnel, an inexpensive do-it-yourself projection device that works with a small telescope to provide a safe solar viewing experience for groups. Download a free PDF with detailed instructions for making and using one.