(NEWSnet) – Before the April 8 eclipse, NASA scientists and eye doctors urged those wanting to get a peek at the sun to use eclipse glasses made with special solar filters.

The reason was to protect one’s eyes from permanent damage while looking at the moon’s path in front of the sun. In the weeks leading up to the event, inexpensive glasses with the special filters set into cardboard frames became widely available at retailers, museums, libraries and science centers in and near the eclipse totality area, which crossed parts of 15 states.

Eclipse Glasses USA is among the agencies now asking for donations used, but not damaged, eclipse glasses. The organization will then direct the eclipse glasses to school children in regions that will experience a solar eclipse, but where there are limited resources to supply their communities with the safety pieces.

“By redistributing these glasses, Eclipse Glasses USA hopes to provide educational institutions with the tools they need to offer their students a safe and enlightening eclipse viewing experience,” the agency said.

Details are at eclipse23.com, with the note:

“We only accept US-made paperboard glasses that have the manufacturer's address and contact info and that bear the ISO logo. All others will be discarded due to liability and quality issues.”

Another organization with a similar goal is Astronomers Without Borders, which partners with community agencies across the country for in-person drop off boxes. For a list of active collection sites, go to astronomerswithoutborders.org.

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