Don’t throw away or recycle those solar eclipse glasses just yet

Don’t throw away or recycle those solar eclipse glasses just yet.

While some solar eclipse glasses and viewers are printed with expiration dates of three years, NASA says those warnings are outdated.

If your eclipse glasses or viewers are compliant with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard, you can reuse them indefinitely, according to NASA.

Warnings that eclipse glasses should be discarded if they are more than three years old (or that say you shouldn’t look through them for more than three minutes at a time) are outdated and do not apply to eclipse viewers that are compliant with the ISO 12312-2 standard adopted in 2015.

The next total solar eclipse is on April 8, 2024, though the path of totality will not cross North Carolina. Raleigh will be in the path of totality of a total solar eclipse on May 11, 2078.

To make sure you get (or got) your eclipse glasses or viewers from a supplier of ISO-compliant products, see the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Reputable Vendors of Solar Filters & Viewers page.

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Don’t throw away or recycle those solar eclipse glasses just yet."