If you have not found solar eclipse glasses at this point, you are probably out of luck because there was a scramble to get them. However, you can make your own projector to safely view the eclipse this afternoon.
NASA says pinhole projectors and other projection techniques are a safe, indirect viewing technique for observing an image of the sun.
The Stanford Solar Center offers tips on pinhole projections.
You'll need:
- Two sheets of stiff white paper
- A pin
Instructions:
- Using the pin, punch a small hole in the center of one of your pieces of paper.
- Go outside. With your back to the sun, hold the paper up and aim the hole at the sun. (Don't look at the Sun either through the hole or in any other way!)
- Find the image of the sun coming through the hole.
- Move your other piece of paper back and forth until the image looks best. What you are seeing is not just a dot of light coming through the hole, but an actual image of the sun.
