Rick Fienberg

Abstract

The American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Task Force helped coordinate preparations for the “Great American” solar eclipses of 2017, 2023, and 2024. Among our goals was to engage the public with authoritative and straightforward eye-safety instructions and to direct people to reliable sources of safe viewing tools. As part of this effort, we created a list of reputable sellers of eclipse glasses, handheld viewers, and solar filters. Linked from NASA, eye-health organizations, and the news media, this list became a key resource for all three eclipses. As the number of suppliers grew and the eclipses approached, vetting suppliers and maintaining the list became a full-time job. Given that everyone on the task force was volunteering their time, this situation became untenable and unsustainable. I’ll provide additional details about how we met these challenges and offer some ideas about how lists of reputable sellers might be built and maintained for future solar eclipses not just in North America, but wherever in the world they’re visible.

BIO

Dr. Rick Fienberg is an astrophysicist, science communicator, and eclipse chaser. He recently retired after spending 22 years at Sky & Telescope magazine, 12 years as Press Officer of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), and a decade as a leader of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force. The International Astronomical Union, for which he helped develop the Galileoscope educational telescope kit, named asteroid 9983 Rickfienberg in his honor. NASA awarded him its Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for his work promoting eye safety for the August 2017 U.S. solar eclipse, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific honored him with the 2024 Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. He is co-author with Stephen P. Maran of Astronomy For Dummies, 5th edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2023).