How to tell if YOUR solar eclipse glasses are safe as fakes flood Amazon - experts warn regular sunglasses could leave your retinas SCORCHED

Experts are urging people to check their glasses are safe to view the solar eclipse through - if not, it could lead to people's eyes being torched.

Regular sunglasses are no good because they don't block enough visible, ultraviolet, or infrared light. The same is true of telescopes and binoculars without filters.

Eclipse viewing glasses that block out 99 percent of ultraviolet light have been sold out for weeks in may places, while fakes flooded Amazon, eBay, and Temu. 

Fortunately, there's a simple way to determine whether the glasses you bought are going to protect your eyes from searing. 

And if you waited too long to buy glasses, or yours are fake, there are simple eclipse viewers you can make at home from a cereal box or paper plates. 

People wear special protective glasses to observe a total solar eclipse in Mazatlan, Mexico April 8, 2024. The only eclipse glasses that are safe to use to view the eclipse are ones that bear the label 'ISO 12312-2' or 'ISO 12312-2:2015.' 

READ MORE: Masters fans are handed protective glasses at Augusta

'We get to experience a solar eclipse and Augusta on the same day,' remarked one fan. 'Not bad.' 

The only glasses you should use to glimpse the celestial phenomenon are those that meet international standard ISO 12312-2, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). 

This standard, set by the International Organization for Standardization, specifies that the glasses in question reduce visible sunlight to safe levels and block both ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Ultraviolet radiation is the one that is most harmful to the retina, whereas infrared radiation can generate heat that causes thermal damage.

If you bought eclipse glasses, they should have the 'ISO 12312-2' label somewhere on them.

Oftentimes it is on the arm.

It may also be written as 'ISO 12312-2:2015,' which means the same thing.

In either case, your glasses should protect you. 

Even though President Donald Trump snuck a peek in 2017, it is not safe to look right at an eclipse because it can burn the retinas in your eyes - the part that captures light and sends the signals to your brain.

You may be tempted to sneak a peek at the eclipse, as Donald Trump did during the eclipse in 2017, but the resulting damage could be irreparable.

The moon begins to eclipse the sun on April 8, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. Millions of people have flocked to areas across North America that are in the "path of totality" in order to experience a total solar eclipse.

A family poses for a photo with a large eclipse glasses display in front of the pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, April 8, 2024.

People around the US caught a glimpse of the rare event on Monday, including golf fans at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, where organizers handed out official tournament-issued solar viewers.

When the moon passes across the view of the sun, for people in the so-called 'path of totality,' the sun was completely obscured.

For about four minutes, the moon completely blocked the sun.

But outside of that narrow window, and for everyone who is not in the path of totality, there is no point in time when it will be safe to look directly at the sun.

That's the reason for solar eclipse viewing glasses.

A simple solar eclipse viewer can be made by cutting a hole in a paper plate. You can view the light shining through onto another plate, which will show the eclipse's shadow as it passes.

It is not safe to look at the eclipse through regular sunglasses, smoked glass, a telescope or other optical magnifier with no filter, or a polarized filter. 

Some people report using a welder's mask to view eclipses, which is fine as long as you know that they meet the ISO 12312-2 standard.

The standard requires the glasses to block at least 97 percent of infrared light, and 99.9968 percent of visible light.

 If you choose to view the eclipse without proper protection, the result can be 'eclipse blindness.'

This condition 'occurs when eyes are exposed to the sun and the light exposure damages or destroys cells in the retina,' the AOA said. 

If you don't have eclipse glasses, you can make an eclipse viewer to look indirectly at it.

A simple solar eclipse viewer can be made by cutting a hole in a paper plate.

You can view the light shining through onto another plate, which will show the eclipse's shadow as it passes.

Another method, slightly more complex, is a cereal box eclipse viewer: