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You want to look at the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, but you don’t want to fry your eyeballs and you don’t want to spend a ton of money on special filters or pieces of welding glass that you’ll never need again. Luckily, there’s a simple solution and it comes from our pals over at Celestron.
Celestron – EclipSmart Safe Solar Eclipse Glasses Family 4-Pack $12
For just around $12, this kit gets you four pairs of paper glasses with advanced solar filter lenses that meet the ISO 12312-2:2015(E) Standards. That means you can use them to directly observe the sun, even during an eclipse. While it’s not good to look at the sun for too long under normal conditions, eclipses make the practice particularly harmful. Even brief exposure to the unprotected eye can cause irreversible damage.
This $12 kit also comes with a 32-page book with information about the eclipse as well as best practices for observing it in the safest possible way.
Celestron – 2-Pack EclipSmart Safe Solar Power Viewers – 2X Magnification $13
If you want to get an even closer look at the sun during its game of hide-and-seek, these viewers offer 2x magnification for observing more details. You only get two viewers, but the lenses are plastic instead of film so they’re more durable than the most basic models. You also get a double-sided eclipse map to see the path of total coverage.
Celestron – 3-Pc EclipSmart Safe Solar Observing & Imaging Kit $24
This option gets you the best pair of eclipse glasses around. They have solid plastic frames, which are a big upgrade from the paper version. They also have hard plastic lenses that are more durable and provide a clearer image than the film-based models. This kit also comes with a dedicated solar filter designed to go over a camera lens so you can capture images of the eclipse without frying your camera’s sensor in the process. This is the most deluxe way to view the eclipse affordably.
