This UT scientist made his own line of solar eclipse glasses

Kelsey Bradshaw, Austin American-Statesman
·3 min read
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Tovard Hessel, an engineering scientist at the Space and Geophysics lab at the University of Texas at Austin, looks up at the sun with a set of his own eclipse glasses on Monday, April 1, 2024.
Tovard Hessel, an engineering scientist at the Space and Geophysics lab at the University of Texas at Austin, looks up at the sun with a set of his own eclipse glasses on Monday, April 1, 2024.

Torvald Hessel has been chasing total solar eclipses for 25 years. He hasn't caught one yet.

Hessel, who is originally from the Netherlands, is an engineering scientist at the University of Texas. He first had a chance to see a total solar eclipse in France in 1999, but he moved to Texas just two months before it occurred. In 2017, when a total solar eclipse passed over parts of Missouri, Tennessee, and South Carolina, Hessel was stuck working in Texas.

This year, this is his year.

"I've seen beautiful partial eclipses, which is nothing like what we're going to experience in two weeks," Hessel said. "I'm actually a little nervous."

More: How will Austin's bats react during Texas total solar eclipse? Here's what experts say.

The eclipse, which happens when the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking its light, inspired the entrepreneurial side of Hessel — he's selling his own line of eclipse glasses.

If you've been living under a rock lately, you need a pair of special glasses to view the eclipse without injuring your eyes. Hessel started the process to launch his own line roughly three years ago, but he first became interested in eclipse glasses back in 1999.

"We were prepping for the big solar eclipse in 1999. That's when I got intrigued and saw merchandising," Hessel said.

Hessel first tried to make the glasses when he was running the Texas Museum of Science and Technology. Issues with the museum's board led to no glasses, Hessel said, and then the museum closed in 2018.

The museum's closure brought on a bout of depression, especially in regard to 2024's eclipse. An eclipse was finally going to be in Texas and Hessel had no museum to sell glasses from.

"And then it clicked. 'Why don't I do it?'" Hessel said.

Tovard Hessel, an engineering scientist at the Space and Geophysics lab at the University of Texas at Austin, holds a set of his eclipse glasses on Monday, April 1, 2024. Hessel started his own small business called The Eclipse Store where he sells eclipse glasses that meet ISO safety standards, mugs and shirts, and offers free information and interactive maps on the April 8, 2024 eclipse.

More: Where are the best spots to view the total solar eclipse in Texas? Here are a few options

Hessel found a vendor to make the glasses about two years ago and had them tested by ICS Laboratories. (When picking a pair of eclipse glasses, make sure they are ISO, International Organization for Standardization, 12312-2 international standard glasses, which have approved filters to block the sun. Looking at the eclipse without proper eclipse glasses can damage your eyes.)

Hessel's testing was complete by April 20, 2023, which was in plenty of time for October's annular eclipse. Hessel sold about 1,000 pairs of glasses for the October eclipse.

Hessel's glasses are two for $5 and can be purchased at: theeclipsestore.com.

Selling glasses has been a rewarding endeavor for Hessel, in more ways than one — it's a community service and he gets to walk away with some cash in his pocket.

Tovard Hessel, an engineering scientist at the Space and Geophysics lab at the University of Texas at Austin, holds a set of his eclipse glasses on Monday, April 1, 2024. Hessel's glasses meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard which makes them safe for eclipse viewing.
Tovard Hessel, an engineering scientist at the Space and Geophysics lab at the University of Texas at Austin, holds a set of his eclipse glasses on Monday, April 1, 2024. Hessel's glasses meet the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard which makes them safe for eclipse viewing.

Hessel is just as excited as everyone else, maybe even more so, for April 8's eclipse. He will be at a friend's house in Bertram. His parents are coming in and he's worried about the weather and the logistics of the day. Counties across Texas have issued disaster declarations ahead of the eclipse due to the expected influx of visitors and hotels have been booked up for months.

Traffic is likely, but Hessel has the perfect advice for wherever you may be on the big day: "Take some time, bring a little barbecue, have a tailgate party, and watch the traffic jam resolve."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Meet the UT scientist who made his own line of eclipse glasses