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(CBS News) – On April 8th, a rare event will occur in the sky. People in parts of the U.S. will be able to witness a total eclipse, while others will see a partial eclipse. To view it, you must wear proper eyewear, but experts are warning that fakes are hitting the market, and they could damage your eyes.

In Los Angeles, a company is busy shipping out glasses for the solar eclipse. Over the past two years, the maker has been working on tens of millions of pairs ahead of the 2024 eclipse.

Mark Margolis’s glasses are made in the U.S., come with an ISO seal, and are certified with the number 12312-2. However, experts are warning that foreign companies are making fakes.

One or more unidentified factories in China are now producing counterfeit eclipse glasses, according to the American Astronomical Society. Counterfeit pairs look very similar to the real thing, and on the inside, they even have the correct number and the name of a legitimate American manufacturer.

“We know that there are counterfeits which may or may not be safe and we know that there are fakes which I define as being unsafe,” said Rick Fienberg with the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force

So how do you know if your glasses are safe?

NASA has some advice:

Take your eclipse glasses and find a bright light, like a lamp or a flashlight. Hold your eclipse glasses up to the light and look through them. The light will appear extremely dim or not appear at all.

“Eclipse glasses are at least a thousand times darker than the very darkest ordinary sunglasses,” said Fienberg.

On its website, the American Astronomical Society lists authorized dealers that sell safe glasses. You can find that list here. Distributors explain supplies are going quickly so you might want to buy glasses soon.