Getting ready for the big event: Total Eclipse
Blog vol 4.39. Getting ready for the big event: Total Eclipse
Anytime you have a big event, like a wedding or big anniversary, there is a lot of build-up and preparation. Back in spring, 2017, I came across a news feed on a solar eclipse that was going to happen on August 21, 2017. It fired up my imagination. Clint (the husband of our staff, Karen), who wrote software for planetariums and was a big space nut, made it to Tennessee with his oldest son to experience totality. Awesome stuff, in the real sense of “awe”.
Totality is when the moon completely blocks out the sun during the day.
Totality is short-lived and follows a certain path. It happens in your vicinity very rarely. Those of us in Burlington had about 60-65% blockage on that August afternoon back in 2017. The conditions were great and the time of observation was really memorable. In spring, 2017, we invested in 1000 solar eclipse glasses for our patients, sold them for $2 a pair, and raised $1000 for Medical Missions International (MMI, where your used glasses go). So many good things happening at once.
You can imagine our excitement when we found out that on April 8, 2024, we would have totality right here in the Golden Horseshoe, our backyard! Again we have ordered solar eclipse glasses. In the industry, there has been some question about the quality of the glasses from some of the suppliers. Do the lenses actually meet up to the necessary specifications required to protect the eyes? The lenses are supposed to meet the ISO standard 12312-2, which specifies levels of uniform transmittance of ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths that reach our retinas. We do NOT want to be giving our patients glasses that do not do what they are supposed to do. Despite the quality assurance of the company we are dealing with, we opted to verify the standards ourselves.
I have a colleague at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Jeff Hovis, who has helped me on another occasion, during COVID. I was looking for a way of using UVC to disinfect hard surfaces in my clinic and Dr. Hovis was able to measure UV emission from a commercially made light from the USA. Nothing substantial came of that, a good idea but… still working on that. However, the relationship is ongoing.
I sent 5 new pairs of glasses to him and 2 pairs of leftovers from 2017. All 5 of the new pairs met the ISO standard, yeah! BUT ONE OF THE OLD PAIRS DID NOT, oh no! It would appear that some degeneration occurs over time. The literature coming out supports this.
The moral of this story: Only use new pairs, throw out the old ones so you do not use them.
We should have all the new pairs in our hands next week and if you need a pair, contact our office or drop by. Any money raised from the sale of solar eclipse glasses is going to MMI to fund worldwide eye care. We are having a little party outside our building on April 8, 2024, at 3:18 pm, so if you want to join us, we’d love to see you.
Mark your calendars and THROW OUT ALL OLD PAIRS OF SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES.
Til next week,
The good doctor
