(Montreal) These days, Mylène Gamache-Tremblay spends her evenings and weekends taking orders for solar eclipse glasses, packing them and shipping them throughout the eastern part of the country.
The Montreal-area online toy retailer says it literally takes all of her days to fulfill orders.
Solar eclipse glasses are very popular in large parts of eastern Canada, which will find itself on April 8 in an excellent trajectory of this rare phenomenon in astronomy. But as the fateful date approaches, demand eclipses supply. Experts are warning Canadians to act quickly to ensure they can observe this celestial phenomenon without risking eye damage.
Mme Gamache-Tremblay, who, in addition to her regular job, owns the online educational and scientific toy store “Funique,” says she first ordered a single box of glasses to sell for about $5 each. Since then, she has had to reorder about ten times – and she is not sure that her supplier will continue to have enough in stock.
Other retailers are already out of stock.
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has no longer sold glasses online since mid-February. Executive director Jenna Hinds says the organization ordered about 50,000 last year and another 25,000 this year. Although this allowed me to save a few pairs to sell in person, Mme Hinds estimates they probably could have reordered several times.
“Eclipses – especially total eclipses – that are visible in Canada don’t happen very often,” said Ms.me Hinds during a telephone interview. “It seems to be a centuries-old tradition that glasses are sold along the path of the eclipse. »
The demand has led to fears that people will order glasses that don’t offer real protection or, worse, rely on their sunglasses or welder’s goggles. High demand during the 2017 partial solar eclipse led to the appearance of “counterfeit and dangerous glasses” on Amazon, according to the Discover the Universe website, a training program offered by astronomers Canadians.
Certified retailers
Mme Hinds says it’s important that the glasses meet safety standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), blocking approximately 99,999 percent of high-intensity visible light. Otherwise, people who look at the Sun during an eclipse risk experiencing eye damage, ranging from “temporary spots in vision to leaving you completely blind,” she warns.
On the afternoon of April 8, Canadians experiencing the total eclipse – when the Moon completely covers the solar disk – will be able to watch through their glasses as the Sun shrinks into a quarter, then completely veiled. by the passage of the Earth’s satellite. During the few moments of total eclipse, but no longer, the observer can safely remove their glasses and view the eclipse with the naked eye.
NASA says the total eclipse in continental North America will begin in the morning of April 8 on the Pacific coast of Mexico, before crossing the United States, southern Ontario and Quebec, New Brunswick, l Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, then leave the continent via the Atlantic, flying over the island of Newfoundland, at 5:16 p.m. local time.
In Quebec, the total eclipse will only be visible over a strip approximately 200 km wide in the south of the province around 3:25 p.m., depending on the exact geographical position, we read on the Éclipse Québec website.
Mme Hinds suggests using websites like “Discovering the Universe” or “Éclipse Québec” to find retailers that sell certified glasses.
Many schools already have them in stock for distribution, she says, and some retailers or science organizations sell them in person even if they’re sold out online. Organizations offering special events that day will also give away free glasses in many cases, although supplies will be limited.
Thus, in Montreal, experts from the Planetarium and Space for Life will be at Jean-Drapeau Park to accompany observers and distribute 150,000 pairs of glasses free of charge. Mont-Mégantic National Park, proud to be located “on the line of centrality in the band of totality” of the eclipse, is organizing activities on site on April 8. The Mont-Mégantic Observatory will also offer a special program broadcast on its Facebook page and on YouTube.
Mme Hinds says enthusiasm for the eclipse has been “astronomical” – places for some special events sold out within an hour.
“Plan,” she recommends. This is the best advice we can give to anyone. Make sure you know where you want to go to view the eclipse, make sure you have your glasses. And order them now if you don’t already have them! »