# How can I directly view the solar eclipse safely and cheaply? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289 "2015-03-18T13:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/21 "2015-03-18T22:49:34Z")
Simple solution: Take a box. A shoebox is fine. Make a pinhole on one side. Hold the box so the bottom shades you. The eclipse will be easily seen on the interior of the box opposite the pinhole. You can also do it with two sheets of paper. Put a pinhole in one and hold it between the sun and the other sheet. The eclipse can be seen. This allows you to move the paper to “focus” it better. The box is a little darker, though, and the image can be see a little bit better. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/22 "2015-03-18T23:25:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Simple solution: > > Take a box. A shoebox is fine. > Make a pinhole on one side. Hold the box so the bottom shades you. > The eclipse will be easily seen on the interior of the box opposite the pinhole. > > You can also do it with two sheets of paper. Put a pinhole in one and hold it between the sun and the other sheet. The eclipse can be seen. This allows you to move the paper to “focus” it better. The box is a little darker, though, and the image can be see a little bit better. He specifically doesn’t want “pinhole cameras and neat ways to create shadows of the event” That being said, I urge you to do reconsider projecting it, through say a binoculars or small telescope, onto a white sheet of paper. If you do that, you’ll magnify it, which will let you see for example any sunspots on the surface (that’s cool to look at anyways). If you just put something over your eyes, you don’t get any magnification. Yes, it’s not direct, but it will actually be a better image. Have you ever looked at the sun magnified before? It’s really cool, and I urge you to do it even when there’s not an eclipse. Sun spots on it will change from day to day. Sometimes you get really impressive ones. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/23 "2015-03-18T23:43:34Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > Old floppy disk have a slot in the outside opaque cover. The last time we had a major solar eclipse visible in the Western US someone suggested stacking two floppy disks and view through this slot. At the time no one shouted ‘‘NO!’’. I tried it and experienced no difficulties, howbeit,I only viewed the eclipse briefly. [Many experienced solar observers use one or two layers of black-and-white film that has been fully exposed to light and developed to maximum density. The metallic silver contained in the film emulsion is the protective filter. Some of the newer black and white films use dyes instead of silver and these are unsafe. Black-and-white negatives with images on it (e.g., medical x-rays) are also not suitable. More recently, solar observers have used floppy disks and compact disks (both CDs and CD-ROMs) as protective filters by covering the central openings and looking through the disk media. However, the optical quality of the solar image formed by a floppy disk or CD is relatively poor compared to mylar or welder’s glass. Some CDs are made with very thin aluminum coatings which are not safe - if you can see through the CD in normal room lighting, don’t use it!! No filter should be used with an optical device (e.g. binoculars, telescope, camera) unless it has been specifically designed for that purpose and is mounted at the front end (i.e., end towards the Sun).](http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety2.html) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/24 "2015-03-19T06:51:18Z")
Remember, guys, that it’s perfectly safe to look directly at the eclipse, with no protection, DURING TOTALITY ONLY. This is because you’re looking at the corona, not the sun itself. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/25 "2015-03-19T07:06:45Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Remember, guys, that it’s perfectly safe to look directly at the eclipse, with no protection, DURING TOTALITY ONLY. This is because you’re looking at the corona, not the sun itself. Excellent advice, but only if you happen to be on a ship far, far away in the remote North Atlantic. AFAIK the eclipse we’re discussing won’t be total anywhere on land. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/26 "2015-03-19T13:06:24Z")
scored 4 pairs of eclipse glasses (after a bit of chaos)! Maybe I’ll try the pinhole thing too. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/27 "2015-03-19T15:05:18Z")
You can stack compact discs and still see the sun thru them. I don’t know how many you would use, maybe a few. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/28 "2015-03-19T15:12:52Z")
I fully expect a BBC news report next week on the extraordinary number of people going to doctors reporting eye injuries as a result of the eclipse. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/29 "2015-03-19T15:19:25Z")
According to an ‘expert’ on TV last night, the problem is not visible light but the infrared. Apparently it will fry the middle of your retina. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/30 "2015-03-19T17:38:02Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > You can stack compact discs and still see the sun thru them. I don’t know how many you would use, maybe a few. I wouldn’t vouch for the safety of this. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/31 "2015-03-19T18:50:35Z")
You can buy just the welding glass without the helmet, which is pretty cheap, since you don’t need auto-darkening glass. It’s available at a welding supply store. I believe you need shade 14, or two shade 7s together should work as well. Then just make a cardboard frame for the glass and duct-tape the glass on to the frame. I did this for the partial solar eclipse a few years ago. It worked great. ---
**Author:** ![Jesta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Jesta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesta)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/32 "2015-03-21T08:03:04Z")
Would this have had any real benefits? [Solar Eclipse over the Poland. I had to improvise - Imgur](http://imgur.com/gallery/jz6TReG) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/33 "2015-03-21T08:09:44Z")
I couldn’t find or improvise any filter in time for the eclipse. Nonetheless, I had a stroll around my city’s main park yesterday morning, and there were plenty of people with filters (and even giant telescopes on tripods) who were more than willing to let passersby have a look. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/34 "2015-03-21T15:06:52Z")
I was happy to be one of them. (not that you were one of my passerbys (or is it “passers by”?) ). It was very nice to share the experience with other people and there was really no need to have the glasses on constantly anyway. It was nice just to take a peak every so often for a status update. I did try the pinhole thing too with a manilla folder I happened to have on me. All in all a really fun and interesting day. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289/35 "2015-03-21T17:18:05Z")
Oh, I forgot to mention an extremely safe way to view the eclipse: through a thick layer of cloud cover. Fucking clouds. I missed the 1999 total eclipse, the Venus transit a few years ago and now this one. Anyone know a place in the US that is in the path of the 2017 eclipse that is 99.99% guaranteed cloud free? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-directly-view-the-solar-eclipse-safely-and-cheaply/715289.md?page=1)