2024 Total Solar Eclipse - Other Viewing Options ⋆ Hot Springs Village Gazette

This is the tenth installment in a series about the upcoming total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. Villagers are very fortunate to be directly aligned with the path.

The obvious way to view the historic solar eclipse is through certified solar glasses and properly filtered equipment that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard. But what if you don’t have proper solar glasses and want to view the stages of the eclipse? Well, there are other safe ways to view the eclipse indirectly. You may have even used some of these back in elementary school. You can use a PINHOLE projector with your back to the sun while projecting the image. There are different ways to make a pinhole projector. The simplest and quickest way is with two pieces of white cardboard or paper. Or, with a little more effort, build a box projector. Remember, do not look at the Sun through the pinhole. Here are links to a DIY method of creating either of these options:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/box-pinhole-projector.html

You can also use your HANDS. With your back to the sun, hold both hands with your fingers overlapping at right angles. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the sun as a crescent during the partial phases of the eclipse. Use a TREE. If you have a shade tree at your location, try looking at the images of the sun coming through the holes formed by the leaves. Use a piece of white cardboard to capture the images for a great viewing session. Use a COLANDER or SLOTTED SPOON. A colander with its many holes will give you fantastic multiple images of the sun. Simply hold it about 20” above the ground. The images will look even better if you cast them onto a white piece of paper or a sheet. Pinhole images are dim and small, but you can magnify the sun’s image by using OPTICAL PROJECTION with a pair of BINOCULARS or TELESCOPE. You will NOT be looking through the binoculars or telescope but will be projecting the partially eclipsed sun onto a surface for convenient viewing for you and others. But because passing bright sunlight through binoculars or a telescope can damage the device, and because of the danger that someone might look at the Sun through the device and injure their eyes, you should not attempt optical projection unless you are an experienced astronomical observer and can remain with your equipment at all times to supervise its use. There are several websites to help you with the setup. While you have these images, take advantage of your cell phone to snap some pictures of the ground or white paper. Never be tempted to look up at the sun while doing this unless you have properly fitted solar viewing glasses and filters.

While these options work, so much is missed by not directly watching the Moon eclipse the Sun. There’s so much to see with your eyes. To get an even better view, there are filters for direct viewing with binoculars and telescopes for each specific manufacturer. So do the research, get some ISO 12312-2 standard glasses and filters, and enjoy the show. However, sometimes, the best plans for viewing an eclipse fall apart due to cloudy skies. When this happens, all is not lost! The movement of the sun, moon, and earth are very predictable. Scientists are able to predict the exact time and path of a solar eclipse. Watching the NASA livestream is one of the most fascinating and safe ways to view a solar eclipse. To find out when an eclipse is scheduled in your area, check the NASA Live website for live stream details at NASA:

Live: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive.

The HSV Camera Club and Village Stargazers will conclude their post of information articles on the solar eclipse next week when we will cover how to prep your viewing.

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