Seven minutes. That’s how quickly the moon leapt over the sun once during yesterday’s total eclipse. It’s strange to think how such a fleeting moment can generate so much buzz and easily forgotten accessories.
The celestial phenomenon drew people out of their homes and into the heat. Suddenly, I found myself on the lawn with dozens of neighbours. All of us were wearing funny little glasses to safely watch the spectacle. Some people were stubborn, instead observing by means of a CD or wearing (multiple) sunglasses. I even saw someone grab a pint of beer as a visual aid. The thick brown glass does the trick, apparently.
‘Not worth it,’ my dad said, quickly passing around a bunch of government-approved eclipse glasses. They’re simple in design; made out of cardboard and specialised lenses made with a black polymer or aluminised polyester. Ours has the ISO-code stamped on the side, dad noted proudly. ‘We don’t want to burn our eyes out, do we? Oh, and put it in front of your phone if you want to take a picture. Otherwise it will mess up your camera.’
Out of stock
Local reports suggested that around one in five Dutch people might ‘try their luck’ by looking at the sun without proper protection. The other extreme is that thousands of people across the country queued for over two hours at shops and universities in order to get their hands on eclipse-proof glasses. Most were sent away as stocks ran out, leaving people to argue and yell at each other.
Chaotic scenes like that happened all over Europe, I hear. Great expectations and a heatwave clearly aren’t a good match. Or perhaps people are still stuck in competitive mode in the aftermath of the FIFA World Cup?
I remember watching my first eclipse in my backyard as kid in 1999. Back then, glasses available to us were rather flimsy. Our current ones are an improvement and, in typical dad fashion, he got them early so he paid a ‘fair price’. Beats the EUR 30 some people charged customers for their last-minute purchases.
Did you know that eclipse glasses have actually become a multi-million industry by now? Worldwide, sales exceeded EUR 207 million in 2024. It may reach EUR 300 in the next decade.
With the craze dying down, I’m already curious how many eclipse glasses I will find on my hike in the countryside this weekend.
It’s a shame, really, because there are plenty of charities and schools collecting used eclipse glasses. Donated glasses made a really unique welcome back to school gift for the 300 pupils attending Portobello High in Edinburgh, for example. It’s a nice way to teach them about the universe while also keeping it circular.
When’s the next one?
My family loves nature, including stargazing and comet spotting, too much to toss our accessories in the bin. My parents already looked up NASA’s schedule for upcoming solar events. Turns out, 2027-2030 we’ll have a good chance of witnessing a partial eclipse. For Europe, the next big one will find us in 2081.
If you don’t want to wait that long, here’s a tip. Fly to New Zealand and visit Ngauruhoe, the real-life volcano used as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings films. Here, you can experience a total eclipse on 13 July 2037.
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