MONROE - Even though Monroe will not be able to view a total solar eclipse Monday, eclipse-viewing glasses have sold out across town.
Representatives of Casey's General Store in Monticello and Wal-Mart in Monroe said both stores offered disposable glasses equipped with solar filters, but both sold out earlier this week, with no resupply expected before Monday's eclipse.
Monroe Clinic, meanwhile, offered free eclipse glasses to residents on Tuesday, but ran out of stock by Wednesday, said Monroe Clinic's director of marketing Patricia Lawson.
However, residents searching for glasses can still obtain a pair at the Monroe Public Library the day of the eclipse.
"We were hoping to have an organic way for people to watch the eclipse together, instead of just having people pick up glasses and leave," said Andrea Schmitz, youth services coordinator at the library.
Schmitz said children and adults will be able to come to the library Monday to borrow or share pairs of glasses or make homemade pinhole cameras through which they can watch the eclipse.
Monroe Clinic ophthalmologist Douglas Shearer said in a statement that, because Monroe is not located within the narrow band in which a total eclipse will be visible, it is doubly important for residents to take measures to safely observe the eclipse. Even though the moon will obscure about 80 percent of the sun in the Wisconsin sky, looking directly at the eclipse can cause severe retinal damage.
While it is possible to make homemade devices - such as pinhole cameras - that allow people to safely view the eclipse indirectly, the only way to safely look directly at the sun is through solar filters that meet a specific standard, Shearer said.
Items such as ordinary sunglasses - even multiple pairs of sunglasses - filtered camera lenses, or other items that supposedly dim sunlight are not safe, Shearer said.
"In some cases these homemade filters may seem like they dim the sun to a comfortable level, but that doesn't mean they do so across the whole electromagnetic spectrum," Shearer said. "While you're enjoying a 'comfortable' view of the 'dim' sun, solar infrared radiation could be cooking your retinas. And you wouldn't know until later, because your retinas don't have pain receptors. Only after the eclipse, when you notice blind spots or other vision problems, would you realize you'd made a catastrophic mistake."
Pinhole cameras, on the other hand, allow people to project an image onto a surface using household materials. Using a homemade pinhole camera, viewers can protect their eyes by looking at an image of the eclipsed sun instead of the sun itself.
Schmitz said instructions for creating a pinhole camera will be available at the library before the eclipse. Residents can share glasses at a viewing session on Monday at the Monroe Public Library at the time of the eclipse, from about noon to 2:30 p.m.
Representatives of Casey's General Store in Monticello and Wal-Mart in Monroe said both stores offered disposable glasses equipped with solar filters, but both sold out earlier this week, with no resupply expected before Monday's eclipse.
Monroe Clinic, meanwhile, offered free eclipse glasses to residents on Tuesday, but ran out of stock by Wednesday, said Monroe Clinic's director of marketing Patricia Lawson.
However, residents searching for glasses can still obtain a pair at the Monroe Public Library the day of the eclipse.
"We were hoping to have an organic way for people to watch the eclipse together, instead of just having people pick up glasses and leave," said Andrea Schmitz, youth services coordinator at the library.
Schmitz said children and adults will be able to come to the library Monday to borrow or share pairs of glasses or make homemade pinhole cameras through which they can watch the eclipse.
Monroe Clinic ophthalmologist Douglas Shearer said in a statement that, because Monroe is not located within the narrow band in which a total eclipse will be visible, it is doubly important for residents to take measures to safely observe the eclipse. Even though the moon will obscure about 80 percent of the sun in the Wisconsin sky, looking directly at the eclipse can cause severe retinal damage.
While it is possible to make homemade devices - such as pinhole cameras - that allow people to safely view the eclipse indirectly, the only way to safely look directly at the sun is through solar filters that meet a specific standard, Shearer said.
Items such as ordinary sunglasses - even multiple pairs of sunglasses - filtered camera lenses, or other items that supposedly dim sunlight are not safe, Shearer said.
"In some cases these homemade filters may seem like they dim the sun to a comfortable level, but that doesn't mean they do so across the whole electromagnetic spectrum," Shearer said. "While you're enjoying a 'comfortable' view of the 'dim' sun, solar infrared radiation could be cooking your retinas. And you wouldn't know until later, because your retinas don't have pain receptors. Only after the eclipse, when you notice blind spots or other vision problems, would you realize you'd made a catastrophic mistake."
Pinhole cameras, on the other hand, allow people to project an image onto a surface using household materials. Using a homemade pinhole camera, viewers can protect their eyes by looking at an image of the eclipsed sun instead of the sun itself.
Schmitz said instructions for creating a pinhole camera will be available at the library before the eclipse. Residents can share glasses at a viewing session on Monday at the Monroe Public Library at the time of the eclipse, from about noon to 2:30 p.m.