For all of you who are NOT traveling to points North to watch the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017, The Local Group will be having our own FREE eclipse viewing event here in Santa Clarita. We will be at Central Park over by the play structures and baseball fields. Once again, this is free and open to the public.
The eclipse starts here in LA at 9:05am but we will be there by 8:30 for the countdown and setup. The maximum is around 70% coverage at 10:21 and ends at 11:44. Precise eclipse details are available at: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/los-angeles
We will have solar glasses, filters and cards to make pinhole cameras. We will also have special telescopes available to allow safe direct solar viewing.
In addition to all of the viewing materials we will be having lectures on how eclipses work and on the physics of our sun.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Begins: 08/21/2017 08:30 AM PDT Ends: 08/21/2017 12:00 PM PDT Location: Central Park 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350
WARNING
After reviewing countless fake and unsafe glasses in the past few days, i would like to spend this moment and ask everyone to check there solar products before using them.
Just because they have the ISO logo, does not make them real. Your first point is to check who makes it.
Majority of solar glasses are made either by Baader, thousand oaks optical or Rainbow Symphony. Rainbow symphony makes glasses for Meade, Celestron, Explore Scientific and other companies within the approved list found on NASA.
A large number of fakes include poorly produced Thousand Oaks solar cards, bad printing, spelling mistakes and incorrect logos. I even came across glasses with the FDA logo on them. I dont recall the FDA approving them safe for consumption!
Read the labels carefully. If they claim to originate from multiple countries such as both the United Kingdom and China, then most likely they are fake.
There are reports of fake Thousand Oaks glasses with no ISO standards. If they carry the Red and Black design, they are good to go. These glasses where produced prior to the ISO regulation numbers being included.
If you purchased your glasses from sources including Amazon, Craigslist and/or eBay, most likely you have fakes.
To test them, hold them up to a light source. If you can see light passing through the filter with a halo, do not use them. If you test using an LED light such as your phone, you should only just about see the LED diode.
Another check is to examine the filter carefully. The finish on Polymer filters should be smooth without banding.
If you have a Mylar based product, ensure that both sides are reflective and free of creases.
Do not use welders glass, mylar balloons, ND filters or any other products including DVDs and multiple layers of unexposed film. None of these protect against UV or IR.
If in doubt, do not use them.
Remember, do not use your solar product from more than 3 minutes at any given time.
If you are attending the club solar event, glasses being handed out by members are made by Thousand Oaks and have been aquired from a recommended retailer as listed on the approved vendors.
From everyone at LGSCV, we wish you a happy and safe eclipse. Thank you for reading this.
