How to make a solar eclipse viewer

This instructable while not the most asthetic ever made is purely functional.  It will help you see a solar eclipse with your eyes and in my opinion is better than a pinhole camera or monocular setup. 

Step 1: Supplies

Any boxes can be cut to fit I used mostly a "wheat snack box" from a popular Dollar store, Duct tape(god bless Nashua), welder helmet replacement lenses( Home hardware store sells for less than 2 bucks.), exacto knife.

Comments

[pyrateroberts]

How does the saying go, "Safety Third"?

[Sniperman2012]

just because it doesnt hurt your eyes doesnt mean its not doing damage, you need shade 14 to be safe, and no you cant stack them lol.

be safe out there.

[Michael_Bell]

Perfect for the Transit of Venus as well

[Dream Dragon]

One thing I would say with this is that you are still looking directly AT the sun, all be it through a filter. The tiniest pinhole of an imperfection in your filter could be really bad news.

I'd recommend an indirect method, especially for children.

[EpicCraftMan]

is there any EASIER way to do it? its pretty cool but anyways

[pyrateroberts]

The problem with ordering the glasses online for this eclipse was time constraints. We literally came up with the idea a day before. But thank you for the heads up for online. I also wanted to cover it with a wood panel looking contact paper I found at a Dollar store to give a Steampunk feel. But alas time constraints.

[HexKrak]

We used 2 layers of #10 lenses and could still see the eclipse just fine.

[welder guy]

Just curious, why is UV protection needed when viewing a solar eclipse? It's something I've always wondered.

[CatTrampoline]

The really sneaky thing about retina burns is that it doesn't hurt while it is happening. You just watch the beautiful eclipse or the mesmerizing flare of a welder's torch at a construction site for 20 minutes and several hours later your eyes are sore and your vision is impaired or gone, depending on the severity of the burns.

[CatTrampoline]

As a refinement on KT Gadget's answer, the darker skies from a partial or near-total eclipse cause your pupils to dialate. This allows a lot of extra UV and IR light in, which burns the retina. If you try to look at the sun on a regular day (still painful and not recommended), your pupils will constrict to reduce the amount of light, UV, and IR that enters.

Even when visible light is low, there is still plenty of solar radiation outside the visible spectrum (UV & IR) reaching the earth.

Think of it this way: You can look at a picture of a welder without getting hurt or you can view welding directly with special filters, but you will damage your eyes if you stare at welding directly. It is the same with the sun - indirect viewing is okay but to look directly at the sun without the proper filters will burn your eyes.

[KT Gadget]

UV (or ultra-violet) is radiation emitted from the sun, pretty much what gives you sunburns. It can also cause skin cancer but only for long term exposures over time - which is why sunblock or sunscreen is needed.

It also protects your eyes because looking at the sun without any protection causes blindness, which UV contributes to that.

Anyone can refine my answer if they wish.

[CatTrampoline]

You can order #14 filters online. Google [welder replacement lenses 14] for a selection of vendors.

[lemonie]

Next one in November.

L

[omnibot]

In the olden long long times ago one way to make the glass was use a bit of glass and sooting it with a candle by putting the surface of the glass close to the flame. Be careful to rest the glass inbetween to keep it from cracking though.
I remember reading a novel where this was explained as done with a mirror. You'd stand with your back to the eclipsing sun and look at it through the mirror, in this case the soot would filter the light twice. Anyone remember what book that was?

[omnibot]

On second thought two layers of flat black spraypaint might also do the trick.

[omnibot]

Oh, and nice instructable btw. Eclipses are magical :)

[depotdevoid]

Cool idea, thanks for sharing! I wish I'd thought of it as a backup for my own rig, it would have been nice to compare the projection to looking with my own eyes!

[Rainh2o]

Looks like your using #10 shade...VERY DANGEROUS!
DO NOT USE JUST ANY WELDERS GLASS!!! You will still damage your eyes!! Use only #14. #14 blocks out 99.999% of the light and UV rays. Anything else is not protection and should not be used even for short periods of time.

Take a look at this site for proper filters

http://www.astronexus.com/node/3

[pyrateroberts]

14 would have been best but we couldn't find it. 10 worked fine for me, no burnt retinas.. but for safety sake 14 is better