© 2024 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Safely Viewing The Eclipse & What Kind Of Glasses You Should Get

Rick Fienberg / TravelQuest International / Wilderness Travel
The total phase of the March 9, 2016, solar eclipse as seen from aboard the cruise ship Le Soleál in the Molucca Sea off the coast of Indonesia"

The total solar eclipse will be here in less than a week.  Thousands will watch the eclipse within the 'path of totality' in Western North Carolina.  Bernard Arghiere is with the Astronomy Club of Asheville.  He's been speaking to groups across the region ahead of the eclipse.  He says the question most commonly asked at those meetings - when is it safe to take your eclipse glasses off when watching the eclipse?  Arghiere sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to answer that question, and many others including what people should know when buying eclipse glasses, and what's the difference between being in the path of totality and not?  (Asheville is not in the path of totality, but areas to the west and south of the city in North Carolina are)

American Astronomical Society page on reputable vendors of solar eclipse glasses

Amazon announced a recall for eclipse glasses sold on its website

Matt Bush joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as news director in August 2016. Excited at the opportunity the build up the news service for both stations as well as help launch BPR News, Matt made the jump to Western North Carolina from Washington D.C. For the 8 years prior to coming to Asheville, he worked at the NPR member station in the nation's capital as a reporter and anchor. Matt primarily covered the state of Maryland, including 6 years of covering the statehouse in Annapolis. Prior to that, he worked at WMAL in Washington and Metro Networks in Pittsburgh, the city he was born and raised in.