Indiana professor collects glasses to save for 2024 eclipse

A college professor in northeast Indiana is collecting solar eclipse glasses in preparation for the total solar eclipse in 2024.

Christer Watson is a physics professor and observatory director at Manchester University. Watson tells The Journal Gazette that Fort Wayne will be on the edge of totality for an April 2024 total solar eclipse that will cross Indiana.

Watson is collecting unwanted pairs of glasses and plans to distribute them for free in the future.

NASA officials say eclipse glasses can be reused indefinitely if the filters aren’t scratched, punctured or torn.

Watson says glasses should be kept dry and stored in a container to avoid scratches.

Astronomers Without Borders also plans to collect unwanted glasses and redistribute them to people in other countries for future eclipses.