australia the time traveller's guide episode 1

We will keep fighting for all libraries - stand with us!

Internet Archive Audio

• This Just In
• Grateful Dead
• Old Time Radio
• 78 RPMs and Cylinder Recordings
• Audio Books & Poetry
• Computers, Technology and Science
• Music, Arts & Culture
• News & Public Affairs
• Spirituality & Religion
• Radio News Archive

• Flickr Commons
• Occupy Wall Street Flickr
• NASA Images
• Solar System Collection
• Ames Research Center

• All Software
• Old School Emulation
• MS-DOS Games
• Historical Software
• Classic PC Games
• Software Library
• Kodi Archive and Support File
• Vintage Software
• CD-ROM Software
• CD-ROM Software Library
• Software Sites
• Tucows Software Library
• Shareware CD-ROMs
• Software Capsules Compilation
• CD-ROM Images
• ZX Spectrum
• DOOM Level CD

• Smithsonian Libraries
• FEDLINK (US)
• Lincoln Collection
• American Libraries
• Canadian Libraries
• Universal Library
• Project Gutenberg
• Children's Library
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Books by Language
• Additional Collections

• Prelinger Archives
• Democracy Now!
• Occupy Wall Street
• TV NSA Clip Library
• Animation & Cartoons
• Arts & Music
• Computers & Technology
• Cultural & Academic Films
• Ephemeral Films
• Sports Videos
• Videogame Videos
• Youth Media

Search the history of over 866 billion web pages on the Internet.

Mobile Apps

• Wayback Machine (iOS)
• Wayback Machine (Android)

Browser Extensions

Archive-it subscription.

• Explore the Collections
• Build Collections

Save Page Now

Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future.

Please enter a valid web address

• Donate Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide

Video item preview, share or embed this item, flag this item for.

• Graphic Violence
• Explicit Sexual Content
• Hate Speech
• Misinformation/Disinformation
• Marketing/Phishing/Advertising
• Misleading/Inaccurate/Missing Metadata

plus-circle Add Review comment Reviews

11 Favorites

DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

In collections.

Uploaded by tinywolf20 on April 13, 2021

SIMILAR ITEMS (based on metadata)

• Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide

The Early Days

Australia: the time traveller's guide  - s1  - e1.

The ultimate outback road trip: an exploration of the history of the Earth as seen through the mind-altering window of the Australian continent. Presented by Dr Richard Smith.

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide: Season 1 - 4 Episode s

1x1 - the early days.

March 25, 2012

1x2 - The First Steps

April 1, 2012

Richard Smith introduces us to Planet Earth's forgotten pioneers: the anthropod armies that invaded the shores.

1x3 - The Wild Years

April 8, 2012

Join Dr Richard Smith as he dodges the dinosaurs and seeks out the sea monsters that inhabited Australia during its wildest years.

1x4 - The Big Island

April 15, 2012

The series final sees us racing down the last 65 million years to the present day. In the wake of the catastrophe that saw off the dinosaurs, Australia set off on a lonely voyage in southern seas.

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide: All seasons

S1: Season 1

4 Episode s

This program is not currently available in ABC iview. You might like similar programs to this, shown below. Learn more in ABC iview Support.

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide

Video share options, share this on, send this by.

The series final sees us racing down the last 65 million years to the present day. In the wake of the catastrophe that saw off the dinosaurs, Australia set off on a lonely voyage in southern seas.

• Go to website

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide

Starting in the west, we head all the way back into the deepest past. This is where the Australian continent comes into its' own. The landscape here holds clues to the mysteries of when the Earth was born, how life first arose, and how it transformed the planet into the pleasant world we now live on. It's in Australia that some of the first complex animals-- the enigmatic Ediacarans-- began to explore the shoreline. We end the episode with the ocean brimming with life and the stage set for conquest of the land. Our journey aboard this amazing walkabout continent has begun.

It's in Silurian Australia that our host meets Planet Earth's forgotten pioneers: the Arthropod armies that invaded the shores, and the first green revolutionaries whose race for the sun pushed plant-life onto the face of a barren world. We follow the rise and rise of fish and the emergence of four-legged animals onto the land.

After navigating the perils of the Permian, we arrive in the Mesozoic in time for the Age of Dinosaurs, Down Under. New discoveries reveal a southern landscape ruled with a reptilian rod: dinosaurs stomped on the west, stampeded in the east and shivered in the south. Some were among the largest dinosaurs to have walked the planet. In the today's desert heart we plunge into an ancient inland sea, full of monsters. But reptiles didn't have the world all to themselves. Mammals like the enigmatic platypus lived alongside them, ready for their moment in the sun.

The final episode sees us racing down the last 65 million years to the present. In the wake of catastrophe, Australia sets off on a lonely voyage in southern seas. This is a story of calamity and conquest - how a conspiracy of climate, biology and geology shaped the land that human's now call home. Taking the long view back allows us to look more clearly forward as our island home rafts steadily northwards and into the storm clouds of change.

Cast & Crew

Dr. Richard Smith

• DOCUMENTARY

Information

© 2012 ABC Australia

Accessibility

Copyright © 2024 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Internet Service Terms Apple TV & Privacy Cookie Policy Support

Australia, The Time Traveller's Guide

Season 1 episodes (4).

About this show

Ratings and reviews.

• Flag inappropriate

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

Australia: the time traveller's guide.

S1.E1 ∙ The Early Years

S1.E2 ∙ The First Steps

S1.E3 ∙ The Wild Years

S1.E4 ∙ The Big Island

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore.

Recently viewed

• Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide
• Cast and Crew

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide - All Episodes

Season 1, recently updated shows.

Top Chef is a competition show in which chefs competing against each other in various culinary challenges, judged by the team of professional chefs and notable people from food industry.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Belly Conklin is about to turn 16, and she's headed to her favorite place in the world, Cousins Beach, to spend the summer with her family and the Fishers. Belly's grown up a lot over the past year, and she has a feeling that this summer is going to be different than all the summers before.

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

Travel Man: 48 Hours in...

Joe Lycett takes a ruthlessly efficient approach to travel, covering everything top tourist destinations have to offer in just 48 hours.

The Last Leg

Adam Hills and co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker provide some offbeat commentary on the significant moments of the past seven days.

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide - Season 1

Streaming in:

We checked for updates on 73 streaming services on 14 March 2024 at 8:57:44 am. Something wrong? Let us know!

Streaming, rent, or buy Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide – Season 1:

Currently you are able to watch "Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide - Season 1" streaming on DocPlay or buy it as download on Google Play Movies, Apple TV.

Where can I watch Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide for free?

There are no options to watch Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide for free online today in Australia. You can select 'Free' and hit the notification bell to be notified when season is available to watch for free on streaming services and TV.

If you’re interested in streaming other free movies and TV shows online today, you can:

• Watch movies and TV shows with a free trial on Apple TV+

S1 E1 - The Early Days

S1 e2 - the first steps, s1 e3 - the wild years, s1 e4 - the big island, where does australia: the time traveller's guide rank today the justwatch daily streaming charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. this includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. this includes data from ~1.3 million movie & tv show fans per day..

Streaming charts last updated: 9:12:34 am, 14/03/2024

Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide is 7663 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The TV show has moved up the charts by 4731 places since yesterday. In Australia, it is currently more popular than C.H.U.E.C.O. but less popular than The X-Files.

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

People who liked Australia: The Time Traveller's Guide also liked

Popular TV shows coming soon

Upcoming Documentary TV shows

Similar TV Shows you can watch for free

About the Series

People the world over dream of jumping in a car and heading into the Australian Outback. The reasons are many: the beauty of the landscapes, the encounters with unique wildlife, the interesting characters to meet, perhaps the sense of adventure and achievement that comes from driving around the world’s largest island. Less tangible but equally enticing in our noisy, crowded world is the chance to experience all that space.

But what if you could explore time as well?

Time is Australia’s hidden gift to the world. Secreted across an island continent, as old as the oldest hills, is the whole story of the Earth. Pretty much every crucial chapter in the evolution of Planet Earth can be read in the rocks, landscapes and life forms of the Great South Land. These are the ancient whispers of tumultuous times: a young planet’s first fiery days, through the origin and evolution of Life, to the conquest of the land and the rise of our modern world.

The plan behind Australia: the Time Traveller’s Guide was to tap into that unexplored dimension. From the outset, take viewers on the ultimate road trip across the Outback, around the coastline and far back in time. Add in a local guide (self/Dr Richard Smith) and let him do the hard driving while you sit back, relax and allow yourself to be astounded and amazed. The end result is a show that really does give you the big picture of a big country, and like any great adventure story, one full of extraordinary encounters, stunning locations, dangerous situations and unmitigated fun.

If that sounds pretty straightforward then start doing the mathematics. A lot has happened since the Earth was born. How exactly do you condense 4,600,000,000,000 years of history into less than 4 hours of television? The end result can’t just be a compendium of lists, dates and facts. It needs to be an engaging yarn, coherently told. It has to be accurate, entertaining and digestible if it has any hope of satisfying as many hungry brains in as many family homes as possible. Yet the scientific underpinnings of this story are complex, evolving, detailed and fiercely debated. In some places, they are also still quite vague. The cast of the show is potentially as large as every organism that has ever lived and the budget, of course, inversely proportional to the infinite number of possible storylines.

What you see in this series are the broad brush strokes that help paint a picture of the grand adventure of the Australian landmass, but this is a painting that will never be completed. The pace of our understanding of the evolution of Australia and the world as a whole continues to build. New discoveries are being made all the time, new ways of interpreting the data can always be found. It is likely that much of the story we have told will continue to change and grow as the months and years unfold. Science is like that. It is what makes embarking on a journey of discovery like this so worthwhile. With every new insight, the story becomes even richer, more puzzling and intriguing. And this is our enduring, ongoing story. One we can all claim to be part of.

The series was filmed in high definition, augmented with CGI, stunning aerials and archival film. The Australia of the past, though, was a very different place to the one of today. In the context of the great span of Earth history, the modern Australian landscape – even the shape of the continent itself – is a very recent incarnation of an ancient and timeless land. That means that you can’t just point a camera at the past and press record. There are no longer active volcanoes on the mainland, no glaciers or ice sheets, and no towering mountain ranges. In terms of living Australia, the country is home to many so-called ‘living fossils’ but still, to bring prehistoric Australia to life meant recreating a whole host of long gone habitats and animals. This is where a combination of computer animations and live action backgrounds filmed here and in the near-Pacific region came in very handy.

Production and completion of the series took place over an 18-month period starting in the second half of 2010. That meant, of course, that the main filming window coincided with the wettest Australian summer on record. Location after location succumbed to floodwaters to the extent that even that one cinematic certainty – being able to film a red Outback landscape – became just another difficult challenge for the filmmakers…

Richard Smith Series Director/Host February 2012

How Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsed – a visual guide

Photos and maps show how Francis Scott Key Bridge snapped after a vessel collision

• Baltimore bridge collapse live updates

What happened in Baltimore on Tuesday morning?

A major bridge in Baltimore in the US state of Maryland collapsed after a container ship collided with it early on Tuesday, sending a number of vehicles into the chilly waters.

Rescuers pulled out two survivors, and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after reports that a 948ft Singapore-flagged container ship leaving port on its way to Sri Lanka had crashed into the 1.6-mile (2.57-km) Francis Scott Key Bridge, named after the author of the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

The state’s governor has declared a state of emergency to get federal resources quickly deployed. Joe Biden said search and rescue efforts were a “top priority” and that all indications were that the episode was a “terrible accident”.

What do we know about casualties?

Six people remain unaccounted for after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, authorities said – all believed to be construction workers who had been repairing potholes on the bridge. Two people have been rescued so far, with one of them in serious condition.

The temperature in the river was about 47F (8C) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the crash, including one the size of a tractor-trailer.

What do we know about the ship and the cause of the collision?

Ship-tracking data showed the Dali – a 290-metre (948ft) cargo ship with a capacity of 10,000 containers – was at the location of the bridge where the accident occurred at about 1.30am ET (0530 GMT) on Tuesday. The vessel had left Baltimore at 1am and was headed for the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, according to the maritime data platform MarineTraffic.

Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, said a preliminary investigation into the Key Bridge collapse “points to an accident”, and the FBI in Baltimore said the collapse of the bridge was not a result of terrorism.

The ship’s crew reported losing power and issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Moore said.

Video posted on social media showed the vessel ploughing into one of the bridge’s central supports in darkness, causing much of the bridge to give way as a number of vehicles fell into the Patapsco River below and the ship caught fire. Synergy Marine Group, the manager of the Dali, confirmed it had collided with one of the pillars of the bridge.

The same vessel was also involved in a collision while leaving the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.

How important is Baltimore port and what will the impact be on trade there?

The bridge leads to the Baltimore port, one of the busiest in the country and an important hub for shipping on the US east coast, especially in transporting road vehicles.

It is also the largest US port by volume for handling farm and construction machinery, as well as agricultural products, and a cruise terminal, according to Reuters.

Port traffic was suspended until further notice following the bridge collapse, and there will probably be grave consequences on commerce in the region.

The bridge’s collapse has revived scrutiny not just of this specific structure but also the overall health of bridges across the US, many of which are considered to be in poor condition. Maryland’s governor has said the bridge was “fully up to code”, while some experts have pointed out that the span, completed in 1977, was conceived before an age of supersized container ships.

What are the implications for road transport in Maryland?

With four lanes, the bridge is part of Interstate 695 and serves as a major route along the ring road that encircles the city. The bridge carries 11.3m vehicles a year, according to the Maryland transportation authority.

Authorities have called the incident a “major traffic alert” and closed all lanes in both directions of the I-695 Francis Scott Key Bridge. Highway signs as far south as Virginia have warned drivers of delays.

• Baltimore bridge collapse
• Water transport
• Shipping industry
• Asia Pacific

Most viewed

When is the 2024 total solar eclipse? Your guide to glasses, forecast, where to watch.

Editor's note: An early cloud forecast for the April 2024 total solar eclipse is in. Read the latest eclipse forecast and news as of Friday, March 29 .

We're less than two weeks away from the astronomical event of the decade: A total eclipse of the sun , which will grace the nation's skies from Texas to Maine on the afternoon of Monday, April 8 .

Millions of people are expected to travel to see the spectacle, which will also attract scientists from across the country to study its unique effects on the Earth and its atmosphere . (Meanwhile, brands such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Applebee's and Sonic are getting in on the eclipse excitement too.)

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

The full total solar eclipse experience will plunge people along a narrow path into darkness midday, but people outside the path of totality can still use eclipse glasses to see the moon pass in front of the sun. It's an awesome and confusing sight on the ground and in the sky.

It should go without saying: Don't drive while wearing eclipse glasses

One task to do now is to get yourself a pair of special eclipse glasses (and luckily there's still time to score a free pair of eclipse glasses ). They're important eyewear during an eclipse because they will block out the sun's harmful rays, which could damage your eyes when you're looking at the sun — even if it's partially blocked.

Solar eclipse glasses are still readily available from plenty of vendors across the internet as of Thursday, March 28. But be wary of counterfeit or fake glasses , experts warned.

The other big factor everyone's anxiously awaiting is the weather forecast, which most experts say is still a bit far away for a specific forecast, though that hasn't stopped some meteorologists from issuing them already. But more detailed, realistic forecasts will start to roll in over the next few days.

Of particular interest will be the cloud forecast , as a deck of thick, low clouds would likely ruin the entire event. But if the clouds are higher up in the atmosphere, such as thin, wispy cirrus , they'd act to diffuse but not ruin the eclipse.

USA TODAY 10Best: 10 solar eclipse fun facts to share with your friends

There's plenty to know before the big day, which won't happen again for about two decades . Read on for answers for all your eclipse questions, including how to watch the eclipse, understand the eclipse and use eclipse glasses to stay safe.

WATCHING THE APRIL 2024 ECLIPSE

How do i watch the 2024 solar eclipse.

There are a few ways of watching the eclipse:

• Get the full experience in person : If you're in a narrow band of U.S. land that spans from Texas to Maine, you will see the moon block the sun and its shadow cast a night-like darkness over Earth for a few minutes. You'll briefly be able to look up without eye protection and see the moon block the sun.
• Watch from outside the path of totality : Much of the U.S. will get a partial view of the eclipse that isn't nearly as impressive as being in the path of totality. Earth won't be plunged into complete darkness and you'll have to wear protective eyewear to see the moon partially block the sun.
• Watch a livestream : Check back on April 8 for a video feed from the path of totality. It's not the same as being there in person, but hey, at least you won't have to sit in traffic .

Totality explained: The real April 2024 total solar eclipse happens inside the path of totality

What time is the solar eclipse on April 8?

The eclipse will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT and end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT, but the exact time of the eclipse varies by where you are in its path.

You can search by zip code to find the exact time for your location.

Where will the April eclipse be visible?

All of the lower 48 U.S. states will see the moon at least clip the sun, but that sight is a trifle compared to being in the path of totality.

Because the narrow path includes or is near some of the nation's largest cities, expect millions of people to crowd into a band of land a little over 100 miles wide that spans from the Texas/Mexico border to the Maine/Canada border.

Here are the major cities in each state where you can expect to experience totality (note that the included times do not account for when the partial eclipse begins and ends):

• Dallas, Texas: 1:40-1:44 p.m. CDT
• Idabel, Oklahoma: 1:45-1:49 p.m. CDT
• Little Rock, Arkansas: 1:51-1:54 p.m. CDT
• Poplar Bluff, Missouri: 1:56-2:00 p.m. CDT
• Paducah, Kentucky: 2-2:02 p.m. CDT
• Carbondale, Illinois: 1:59-2:03 p.m. CDT
• Evansville, Indiana: 2:02-2:05 p.m. CDT
• Cleveland, Ohio: 3:13-3:17 p.m. EDT
• Erie, Pennsylvania: 3:16-3:20 p.m. EDT
• Buffalo, New York: 3:18-3:22 p.m. EDT
• Burlington, Vermont: 3:26-3:29 p.m. EDT
• Lancaster, New Hampshire: 3:27-3:30 p.m. EDT
• Caribou, Maine: 3:32-3:34 p.m. EDT

Will clouds block the April 2024 eclipse?

It's too soon to say for sure, but history offers some clues.

Chances of cloudy skies are pretty high along much of the eclipse's northern path, and some areas such as Buffalo have about a 1-in-3 chance of clear skies in early April.

Skies are usually more clear to the south. Right along the Texas/Mexico border, chances of a clear sky can be nearly 75%.

Keep in mind that clouds don't always ruin an eclipse . High, wispy clouds won't spoil the show in the same way that low thick clouds would. In that case, you wouldn't be able to see the moon pass in front of the sun, but you would still notice a sudden darkness in the path of totality.

What dangers are associated with the eclipse?

The  eclipse , as exciting and fun as it promises to be, comes with a growing number of safety warnings — both for what will happen in the sky and what will happen on the ground.

In addition to the dangers of looking at the eclipse without proper eyewear, we've heard warnings about potentially dangerous  fake eclipse glasses , the possibility for increased  car  c rashes  around the time of the eclipse — and possible  air travel headaches  due to delayed or cancelled flights.

Where is the best place to watch the eclipse?

Texas is considered the best state for eclipse viewing . There's a good chance the skies will be clear and its location along the southern path of the eclipse means totality will last a little longer.

A few lucky travelers will also have a front-row seat with unobstructed views — from a plane .

Will traffic be bad?

Most likely, yes — especially after the eclipse ends . Millions of people will crowd into the narrow path of totality, then many will attempt to leave all at once as soon as the eclipse is over.

When a total solar eclipse passed over the U.S. in 2017, reports say some traffic jams didn't fully clear for more than 12 hours. Even worse, a recent study reported that the 2017 eclipse "was associated with increased risks of a fatal traffic crash" – potentially as much as a 31% increase, the study said .

Also worth noting: The eclipse is expected to have impacts for air travel as well.

Why are schools closing for the eclipse?

Primarily out of a concern for students' safety, schools across the country have given students  the day of the eclipse, April 8,  as a day off, a half day or a chance for e-learning. In Tennessee, for example, officials also say it gives students a chance  to experience the eclipse with their family and friends .

UNDERSTANDING THE 2024 ECLIPSE

What is a solar eclipse definition explained..

A total solar eclipse happens when three celestial spheres — the sun, moon and Earth — line up in a specific way in space.

According to NASA, a solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth. That alignment casts a moving shadow on Earth that either fully or partially blocks the sun's light in some areas. This leads to a period of partial or full darkness on a narrow stretch of Earth. 

The path is so narrow because of the huge distance and size of the sun — as well as the moon's distance from Earth. That focuses the moon's shadow on an area of land much smaller than the moon itself. The movement of the shadow across the land happens as the Earth's rotation interacts with the orbit of the moon.

A total eclipse only happens occasionally because the moon doesn't orbit in the exact same plane as the sun and Earth do. In addition, a solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon.

What's special about a total solar eclipse?

The total solar eclipse on April 8  is causing such a stir because the rare event is an astronomical experience like no other that will be unusually accessible to millions of people.

April's total solar eclipse will fall over more places in the U.S. than the total eclipse before and after it. And the broad length of the path of totality – where Americans have the best shot of getting a clear view – is "much wider"  than it was for the eclipse in 2017 , according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

A total solar eclipse is also far more impressive  than a lunar or an annular solar eclipse. During an annular eclipse, the moon covers the Sun but leaves an outside ring some call a "ring of fire" — it darkens the sky instead of plunging Earth into a night-like darkness, which is what happens during a total solar eclipse. And a lunar eclipse – the appearance of a red moon – happens when the moon passes into the Earth's shadow, according to NASA.

Total solar eclipses can have spiritual significance, too . Ancient cultures viewed as a sign of the gods' anger or impending departure. Some religions today are hosting eclipse viewings and services.

Historically, eclipses have left major marks on religious and spiritual civilizations. In Christianity, an eclipse has been associated with the darkness that accompanied Jesus' crucifixion and in Islam, the passing of the Prophet Muhammad's son Ibrahim.

When was the last solar eclipse?

The USA's most recent total solar eclipse was on August 21, 2017, and stretched from Oregon to South Carolina.

When will the next solar eclipse happen?

The  next visible total solar eclipse  to cross over the U.S. after April will come in more than two decades on Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.

And that eclipse won't be as accessible as the 2024 one: The path of totality in 2044 will only touch the states of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach and political space advocacy. Another total eclipse  will pass over the U.S. in 2045  that will be more accessible to Americans, including for people who live in California, Florida and Nevada.

ECLIPSE GLASSES AND SAFETY

What are eclipse glasses and why are they needed for the eclipse.

Gazing at the bright rays from the eclipse without  protective eyewear  can seriouslt damage your eye, so wearing a pair of protective glasses is important.

There's a technical standard for eclipse glasses, which are designed to block out most light and let you safely see the moon pass in front of the sun: It's called ISO 12312-2 after the International Organization of Standardization.

While there's concerns that not all glasses marketed as eclipse glasses live up to that standard, experts say usually the shortcomings aren't significant .

But as the 2024 eclipse approaches, the American Astronomical Society  has warned that there are some counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses being sold from unverified vendors that would be unsafe to use during the eclipse. They recommend buying from a vetted vendor and testing the glasses before the eclipse.

How do I get solar eclipse glasses?

You should buy from a reputable source who can ship the glasses to you in time for April 8. A guide to last-minute eclipse glasses explains more.

Heads up: The online marketplace is flooded with retailers selling solar eclipse glasses they claim have the NASA seal of approval . Consider that a red flag to look elsewhere.

How can you test eclipse glasses?

NASA shared an easy method to check eclipse glasses at home.

Buyers should put on their glasses and look at a bright light, like a flashlight. If the light is "extremely dim," or doesn't appear at all, the glasses are safe, Susannah Darling, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in an instructional video. Viewers should be able to see the filament of the lightbulb, not the glow surrounding the bulb.

Can you really go blind watching a solar eclipse?

You could severely damage your eyes . Directly staring at the sun before and after the total eclipse, or watching a partial eclipse outside the path of totality without proper eye protection, can result in permanent damage including blurred and altered vision.

While rare, eye damage from watching a partial eclipse happens in part because a person's natural response to squint when looking at sunlight does not get triggered. In the lead-up to the  April 8 solar eclipse ,  doctors and a rare set of eclipse watchers are warning about  watching this planetary event without adequate eclipse glasses or with the naked eye.

It’s hard for experts to know or even estimate how many people experience eye damage from solar eclipses. Since looking at an eclipse does not cause complete blindness, people with permanent damage may not know they have it or report it to a doctor. The 2017 eclipse , which passed from Oregon to South Carolina, is thought to have caused about 100 cases, according to the  American Astronomical Society .

How can I watch the eclipse without glasses?

If you don't have access to eclipse glasses do not use regular sunglasses — You need a more creative solution for safe viewing, like a pinhole projector .

Welding glasses are not recommended for eclipse viewing .

Should I take dogs or cats to see the eclipse? Is it safe for pets?

An eclipse itself isn't dangerous for domestic animals such as dogs and cats, but experts say it's probably best to not bring pets .

Experts' biggest concern is not what’s happening in the sky but on the ground as crowds of excited and anxious people gather, said Dr. Rena Carlson, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“Rather than the effects of the eclipse, I would be more worried about the excitement and all of the people,” she said.

Contributing: Ramon Padilla, Karina Zaiets and Janet Loehrke

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is the 2024 total solar eclipse? Your guide to glasses, forecast, where to watch.