Solar eclipse glasses are simply specialized glasses that offer enough protection that you can look at the sun for short periods of time without causing damage to your eyes. The sun is so bright that even during a solar eclipse you cannot stare at the eclipse without the proper eye protection. You must buy glasses that have been approved by the AAS as being safe for people to use in order to look at a solar eclipse.
Eclipses only happen during specifc times so you will not get much use out of them but if you want to be able to look at it, you will need to invest in a pair of them.
