Watching The Solar Eclipse Next Friday

[flobadob]

Apparently there is going to be a partial solar eclipse taking place next Friday morning. What sort of things do you need to view this safely? Do you need to buy special glasses or are there diy items so that you don't burn out your retinas?

[Sipowicz]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/31873797

[DaisyNonna]

Papers say you need special glasses, no problem there, but omit to say where to buy them.

[Mamyalynne]

Quite a few places have soldout - Amazon may have some.

[chrissa1]

Amazon, according to The Mail. Approx, £10.

[Sipowicz]

.....they say it makes you blind! ;-)

[Canary42]

When I was a penniless schoolboy in the Fifties we got hold of scraps of glass and applied a smoked barrier using a candle - seemed effective but H&S might baulk at this today.

[DaisyNonna]

Too little, too late. Nothing changes.

[trt]

Why is it supposedly damaging to your eyes?

[boxtops]

the light from the sun is damaging, trt - you should never look directly at it - and it slips out from behind the moon very quickly!

There was one when I was at secondary school, we were given negative film reels to look through....

[Sir Alec]

If you know someone with a half decent telescope, you point the telescope at the sun, (using the sun filter) and hold a piece of white paper at the eyepiece end. The image of the sun appears on the paper. I did this during the last eclipse and it worked quite well.

[mibn2cweus]

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/pinhole_projection_l.jpg

A finder scope can be used like this -
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/telescope_projection_l.jpg

Just make sure nobody looks directly through it at the sun.

I never point a telescope towards the Sun without a securely fastened approved solar filter.

Here's a map showing where the Total Eclipse will be visible . . . weather permitting -
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2015Mar20Tgoogle.html

[waterboatman]

I use the screen from my welding mask. Perfect.

[janbee]

I live on the south coast and I understand the eclipse won't be seen so good from here. North of England, I think, is to get the best of it.

[janbee]

Sooo, watching it through my £ shop sunglasses would be a no no then ?

[bhg481]

I'm always amused by the ones who "watched it on the internet". In other words, they didn't experience it. We made a special trip to France for the 1999 eclipse. The shadow of the moon crossing the sun is only part of it; the way the light begins to change as the shadow starts to cross; the eerie feeling of a very (seemingly) unnatural event; the confused wildlife. None of this can be experienced without actually being there. Yes, it is exciting to see the sun covered by a shadow, but the other things happening around as a result of it are just as importantt for an amazing experience.

[EDDIE51]

Our local astronomy group is holding an' eclipse viewing event' in the town centre. They will have solar telescopes set up for people to watch it and viewing filters available. There are a few others around the uk doing the same.