School children use protective glasses to look into the sky at a partial solar eclipse on March 20, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

School children use protective glasses to look into the sky at a partial solar eclipse on March 20, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

In D.C., the partial eclipse will peak at 2:42 p.m. with 81 percent of the sun covered. That is equivalent to modest cloud cover, experts say, and it’s possible Washingtonians won’t even know notice that anything is happening if they aren’t paying attention.

But they should be. “It’s cool to think of all the things lining up in the sky. It’s basically you’re standing the moon’s shadow,” says eclipse enthusiast and Princeton astrophysicist Edwin Turner.

Even though the partial eclipse won’t be anywhere near as spectacular as totality, it is still worth a look—and for that, viewers need special viewing glasses (unless burning one’s retinas seems like a good idea).

“If you have been paying attention to the sky for the last hour, you’ll know something is up is up,” says Rebecca Ljungren, an astronomy educator at the National Air and Space Museum. “But it’s a very slow change, and a very slight change … people will be able to tell the difference only if they use a safe solar viewer.”

And getting one’s hands on those is getting tough.

REI has a pre-recorded message for its customers: “We are all sold out of eclipse sunglasses and do not expect to get any more before the eclipse.”

Warby Parker was giving out free eclipse viewing glasses at its locations, but they have gotten so many requests that they also have a pre-recorded message for people who call their stores. It doesn’t give out store-specific information over the phone, but they do advise that nearly all of the thousands of glasses they ordered have already been picked up. The company does still have a template and instructions online for making a pinhole viewer.

The Air and Space Museum ordered 150,000 viewers to hand out for free. They’re giving out a pre-set number each day—lines have formed early. One Redditor reports they were sold out by 10:45 a.m. yesterday.

Annie’s Ace Hardware says it is expecting a shipment of 500 more pairs, and they encourage people to come in to the Brookland or Petworth locations to pre-order them [update: Annie’s is sold out at Petworth, but people can still try Brookland].

Amazon still has a bunch, largely in packs that work out to about $10 a pair.

If you’re able to get to viewing events, a number of local institutions will be handing glasses out on site, including Montgomery Parks’ “Total Eclipse in the Park” party at Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Park in Silver Spring and the Prince George’s County Library, which will be handing out glasses on the day at 10 locations.

Along with a host of programming, the Air and Space Museum is reserving a bunch to give out on Monday at the museum itself, the Archives, the National Zoo, and at one point along the National Mall.

And bars and restaurants are hosting their own watch parties around the city, a number of which plan to hand out eclipse viewers to guests for safe viewing: DNV Rooftop Bar, the Fairmont Hotel, and Radiator are each free to attend, while Citybar is charging $20 at the door (it comes with a buffet).

Or if you fall into the venn diagram of procrastinators and crafters, here’s some DIY viewer options.


Previously:
A Princeton Astrophysicist Explains Why A Partial Eclipse Isn’t Nearly As Spectacular As Totality
What Will The Eclipse Look Like From D.C.?

This post has been updated.

Filed Under: eclipse, eclipse glasses, eclipse viewers, solar eclipse, total solar eclipse, where to find eclipse glasses in dc,