A pinhole camera, built from two pieces of cardboard, projects a safe image of the eclipsed sun without requiring any commercial eyewear.
Skywatchers without solar eclipse glasses can still safely observe Wednesday's eclipse by building a pinhole projector from household materials, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
A total solar eclipse crossed the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and a small part of Portugal on Aug. 12, marking the first total eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999. A much wider partial eclipse was visible across Europe, North Africa and parts of North America, with the moon covering only a portion of the sun's disk in those regions.
Direct viewing of any phase of a partial eclipse without protection can cause permanent eye damage, NASA said. Eclipse glasses meeting the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard remain the recommended method for direct viewing, but supplies can run low near major eclipse events. A pinhole projector offers an indirect alternative that requires no specialized equipment.
To build one, poke a small, clean hole through the center of a piece of cardboard or stiff paper using a pin or needle. Stand with the sun behind you, and hold the cardboard so sunlight passes through the hole. Hold a second piece of plain white cardboard or paper a short distance away to serve as a screen. The pinhole projects a small, inverted image of the sun onto the second surface, showing the crescent shape as the moon passes in front of it.
The size of the projected image can be adjusted by increasing the distance between the two cards; a longer distance produces a larger but dimmer image. Multiple pinholes, or household items such as a colander or a hat with a woven brim, can produce the same effect by casting several small crescent images through their gaps.
The method works because sunlight travels in straight lines. When it passes through a small opening, only a narrow beam continues onward, which recreates a reversed image of the light source, the sun, on the surface behind it, according to the European Space Agency.
This matters because the eclipse drew large crowds to viewing sites across Iceland and Spain, and demand for eclipse glasses can outstrip supply close to the event. A simple, verified alternative allows more people to participate safely without buying specialized gear or risking eye injury from unprotected viewing.
Eye damage from watching an eclipse without protection is often painless and may not be noticed until hours later, making prevention critical rather than relying on symptoms as a warning sign.
Looking ahead, the next total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 2, 2027, crossing Spain, North Africa and the Middle East, with totality lasting nearly three times longer than Wednesday's event, according to NASA. An annular eclipse will follow on Jan. 26, 2028, visible from South America, Portugal and Spain.
Observers are advised to keep pinhole projectors pointed away from their eyes at all times and to never look through the pinhole directly at the sun. The technique only projects an image; it does not filter sunlight for direct viewing.
For those in the path of totality, brief direct viewing without protection is safe only during the seconds when the sun is completely covered by the moon, space agencies noted, and protective eyewear must go back on the moment any sliver of sunlight reappears.
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