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Marion Hawkins
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Unfortunately, you cannot verify that your filter meets ISO standards, and to do so you will need a specialized and expensive laboratory device, a spectrophotometer that emits intense UV and visible IR light through the filter and measures how much you get at each wavelength. If your filters can be traced back to a reputable supplier or other reliable source and you have a declaration confirming ISO 12312-2 compliance, then you have nothing to fear. But unscrupulous sellers can grab ISO logos from the internet and place them on their product packaging even if their eclipse glasses or viewers have not been properly tested. If you have documentation documenting your product as ISO compliant, do not use the ISO logo.
This means that it is not good enough to see only a label that bears the ISO 12312-2 certification. You should contact the seller and ask for a refund or credit when returning the product and then receive a replacement from a source listed on the reputable manufacturer's page. The only way to know if your viewer is doing this is to be sure that it comes from reputable providers. And the only way to find out is if there is any indication that you meet the ISO12312-2 safety standards.
Manufacturers of solar filters send their products to specialized laboratories accredited to perform tests to verify the safety and quality of their product. Check the manufacturer's documentation to ensure that it comes from an approved and accredited testing facility. Ask the dealer to identify the origin of the product they are selling and ask the manufacturers to identify their authorized resellers. Check the manufacturing documentation for each manufacturer of your product personally and ask them if they #
If you are sure that the filter has not been scratched, punched, torn or taken out of the frame, you can reuse it. Note: If your eclipse glass or viewer complies with the 2015 ISO 12312-2 safety standards, it will look like an uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun. You need to know if it meets the safety requirements ISO 123 12-2, sometimes written as ISO 12511-1 . Such warnings can be ignored and do not apply to eclipse viewers certified according to ISO 121, 12, 13 and 14 of the 2015 standard, as in this article.
If you have bought or given away an Eclipse Viewer, you should have an ISO-compliant filter before you go through it. More about telescopes and binoculars, which were developed especially for observing the sun, you can find on our page telescopes and binoculars. For tips on using solar filters in your optics, see the Solar Filters and Optics section of our Solar Filter Guide.
The AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force has been working diligently to produce a list of such providers, which has now been published. Filters made exclusively for observing the sun are not listed, but we are working on them.
The market is currently being inundated with fake eclipse glasses that are labelled ISO compliant, when they are not. We should look for those that meet ISO standards, not just the guidelines of the US government, "says Dr. Robert A. Smith, Chairman of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force.
If you really want to get welding filters, we recommend to buy them from a welding supplier. We've heard stories of people who ordered and received Shade 14 sweat goggles from random online stores, and they got much of the light the filters promised. In some cases, home-made filters may look like they like the sun at a comfortable level, but that does not mean they do so across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Welding filters can give you a sickly green image of your sun, while special solar panels provide a white, yellow and orange image that is much more pleasant and natural.
What makes them special is their ability to reduce sunlight to a safe level so that you don't hurt your eyes. Filters that are ISO 12312-2 compliant block solar UV and IR radiation and reduce visible sunlight to a safe and comfortable level. Shade 13 filters are rare and can be hard to find, but many people have found them useful for their sun protection. The only one that is safe for direct viewing of the sun with eyes is Shadow 12 or higher, and we have found that it clouds the sun too much, especially in the early morning and late afternoon.
We received eclipse glasses and hand-held solar observers from relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances. When we noticed blind spots or other visual impairments, we realized that we had made a catastrophic mistake. Be careful not to look at the sun with anything that makes it difficult to deal with visible light or invisible radiation.