On Monday, August 21, all of North America will have a solar eclipse. The moon will pass in between the sun and the earth, blocking it. The moon will completely block the sun for a total of 2 minutes 40 seconds, turning day into night.
It's never safe to look directly at the sun, except during the brief phase of the total eclipse. The only safe way to look directly at the un-eclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters such as 'eclipse glasses.'
Regular sunglasses, even your darkest pair, are not safe- they will transmit thousands of times too much sunlight, damaging your eyes.
'Eclipse glasses' are certified by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and are compliant with the ISO-12312-2 international safety standard.
If you're looking to get your hands on a pair, not to worry! We already did the research for you. NASA has a complete list of reputable vendors on their website. We called around to stores in our area to find out which ones still have these glasses in stock as of Wednesday, August 9:
Best Buy
9970 N Newport Hwy, Spokane, WA 99218
Bi-Mart 412 S Main St, Spokane, WA 99006
Bi-Mart Cheney
2221 1st St, Cheney, WA 99004
Fred Meyer15609 E Sprague AveSpokane Valley, WA 99037
Fred Meyer 400 S Thor StSpokane, WA 99202
If the stores run out before you are able to get there, you can also order a set of shades online from a number of retailers:
- 123 Sales
- 2017Solar.com
- 3Dstereo.com
- Educational Innovations
- Electronic Analyst
- Firefly Buys (FFB)
- Fred Meyer
- Freedom Hill
- Mega-Fun Toys
- Off the Wall Toys & Gifts
- Run to Shop
- Skyhawk Ventures
- Solar Eclipse Spectacles (paper glasses only)
- Soluna/GSM Sales
- Squirrellynuts
- ThinkGeek
- Your 5 Star General Store
* Story and photos from KHQ.com