Eclipse Glasses In High Demand Across Essex County: Where To Get Yours

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Having trouble getting your hands on some safety glasses to watch the upcoming total solar eclipse in Essex County? You aren’t alone, it seems.

Although the Essex County area isn’t in the “path of totality” for the highly anticipated event on Monday, April 8, the moon will eventually cover about 90 percent of the sun at the peak of the eclipse – which will take place around 3:25 p.m. See Related: Will I See The Total Solar Eclipse In Essex County?

Safety is the number one priority when viewing a total solar eclipse, NASA says. Be sure you're familiar with when you need to wear specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing by reviewing these safety guidelines.

The warnings from experts appear to have been well-received in Essex County, where safety glasses have been disappearing like hotcakes.

“It's so important to be safe when experiencing a solar eclipse,” the Nutley Public Library stated in a recent social media post.

Nutley library staff said they received a number of eclipse glasses from the Star Net Library Network, and plan to give them out to Nutley adult library card holders on Saturday April 6 and Monday April 8 while supplies last – with a limit of one pair per person.

Other public libraries in the region have been handing out solar glasses to residents in their towns, only to report that they’d all been snapped up – sometimes just days later.

In Belleville, library staff said they were able to secure nearly 600 pairs of glasses. Half were shared with local schools. The rest were offered to residents (and quickly scooped up).

Belleville library staff suggested that people try to purchase glasses from a list of approved vendors, which can be seen online here.

Other libraries reported the same high demand, including Maplewood and Verona.

Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face and only solar corona visible, it is unsafe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection to block harmful solar radiation, according or NASA. See Related: 2024 Great American Eclipse: What To Know

Amazon has a wide collection of NASA-approved solar eclipse glasses, and the American Astronomical Society has more vendors whose eclipse glasses have been certified as safe. Wherever you acquire protective eyewear, it should meet or exceed the international safety standard of ISO 12312-2:2015.

Another safe way to view the eclipse is with a do-it-yourself pinhole projector that shows the sun on a nearby surface. The American Astronomical Society has pinhole projector DIY instructions.

If you don’t have the necessary solar eclipse glasses to safely view the spectacle, or if the weather doesn’t cooperate, you can watch a NASA livestream from several cities along the path of totality.

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