# Viewing the eclipse **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425 "2012-05-19T14:28:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/21 "2012-05-20T10:16:28Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Viewing the sun directly requires a #14 welding glass filter. Lesser numbers or polycarbonate filters are not sufficient and could allow eye damage. I would like some hard numbers on that. My gut feeling is that a welding arc emmits several times more bad stuff than the sun. Because even watching the reflection of an arc can do eye damage. On the other hand we look at the reflection of the sun all the time with no problems ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/22 "2012-05-20T12:35:42Z")
Is there any place I can figure out when and if I can see the eclipse based on my current location? I’m at about 1.3667° N, 103.7500° E ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/23 "2012-05-20T12:40:39Z")
Welding arcs and the sun are different beasts, and the damage comes from different wavelengths. Simple green welding glasses are for torch welding and brazing, and are designed to absorb IR. They typically have no UV absorption, since a torch generates very little. They will provide no protection for viewing an eclipse, and will simply enable the viewer to spend a lot of time with the UV light ripping into their retina. A welding arc has copious amounts of UV, including significant amounts of UV-C, little of which reaches us from the sun due to absorption in the upper atmosphere. This makes a welding arc really bad. The sun has, in addition to UV, a very extended IR range, which a welding arc lacks. It isn’t clear that all welding glasses suited to arc/MIG welding will have adequate IR absorption to protect the eye if the sun is viewed. You need to protect against light right across the spectrum from the sun. Not all welding glasses will necessarily protect across IR,visual, UV-A, UV-B at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/24 "2012-05-20T13:45:33Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Is there any place I can figure out when and if I can see the eclipse based on my current location? I’m at about 1.3667° N, 103.7500° E Check out the link from **dracoi** : > [@dracoi](#): > > Here’s the best resource I could find: [NASA - Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20](http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html) There is a google map embedded that shows where youc an see it from, and lets you click on your location to get specific information. Sadly, I think you’re out of luck on this one. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/25 "2012-05-20T13:51:36Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Is there any place I can figure out when and if I can see the eclipse based on my current location? I’m at about 1.3667° N, 103.7500° E I think the eclipse will occur before sunrise at your location. (I didn’t look it up but I’m guessing you’re in Singapore based on the 1N latitude). ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/26 "2012-05-20T14:03:57Z")
Oh ok thanks. I found a few Java applets and that’s what they said too. Couldn’t get the NASA applet to work though. Are they being overwhelmed at the moment? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/27 "2012-05-20T14:11:26Z")
You can also google “\ eclipse”, and you’ll come up with local news articles telling you exactly when interesting things will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/28 "2012-05-21T00:10:54Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Are you talking about this eclipse? > > You must have a time machine. No, it appears that my sister either misunderstood what I was saying or was yanking my chain. I saw it on the news at about 4:30 p.m. PST Friday and assumed the newscaster was talking about that evening. So when I texted my sister an hour later she probably just didn’t understand what I was talking about because there was no eclipse that evening, which is obviously why I kept looking out the train window trying to figure out why nothing was happening. So do I get any sort of view in SoCal tonight? I thought the newscaster on Friday said we would see something, but [cnn.com](http://cnn.com) is saying that Northern California is the place to be. The NASA page is overloaded. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/29 "2012-05-21T00:53:02Z")
Right now I am getting good results using binoculars projecting the eclipse onto a dark board. I am in San Diego. There is a little bite out of the sun currently. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/30 "2012-05-21T19:52:26Z")
For what it’s worth, some of the solar physicists here _have_ used old floppy discs as eye filters. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425/31 "2012-05-21T23:32:37Z")
One damn cloud in the sky yesterday and guess where it was? Sun actually peeked out just about when the eclipse was at max. Pretty underwhelmimg, actually. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-the-eclipse/622425.md?page=1)