Safely Viewing Solar Eclipses

Your eyes are very important and are also very vulnerable. We've always been told that looking directly at the sun is unsafe. So is looking at the sun during most eclipses. It is only safe to do so during the few brief seconds or minutes of a total solar eclipse. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses and the partial phase of a total aclipse are never safe to vew directly without taking precautions. Even when most of the sun is obscured during the partial phase of a total solar eclipse, the portion which remains in sight is very bright and can not be viewed without eye protection. Failure to use appropriate filtration may result in permanent eye damage or blindness!

One safe method of viewing a solar eclipse is to use a Pinhole Projector. A pinhole projector uses a small hole to project an upside down image of the sun onto a "screen" located a half-meter or more beyond the opening. A similar vew can be created by interlacing your fingers and allowing the light to shine through to the ground below. A variation on the pinhole camera is to use binoculars. However, don't yield to the temptation to look directly through the binoculars.

Filters

There are filters which can be used to look directly at the sun, but use caution. You can use welders goggles with a rating of 14 or higher, but don't use them to look through binoculars or a telescope. Some telescope and camera manufacturers sell metal-coated filters that are safe for viewing the Sun. According to Mark Littmann, Ken Willcox and Fred Espenak's "Observing Eclipses Safely," these filters which are designed to fit over the lense should not be confused with solar eyepiecse.

There are also specialty glasses which can be purchased for eclipse viewing. These can often be found advertised in astronomy and science magazines.

Finally, there's one method for creating your own filter, but it needs to be completed days in advance of the eclipse. Open a roll of "true" black and white film and expose it to the sun for a minute. Then, take this exposed film to be developed and get the negatives. (Be sure to inform the developers of your intentions. Many do not return or charge for film that does not develop into pictures.) Use two layers of negatives to create a filter for viewing the eclipse.

Even with these filters, be careful. Only look at the sun for a moment before looking away. Tiny holes in the filters can still subject your eyes to possible damage if viewed for extended periods.