Make a Solar Eclipse Projection Viewer

Here's a different way to view the eclipse using a cereal box.

The total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017 is a once-in-a-generation event. The path for the total eclipse spans a portion of western NC, but folks elsewhere in the state will be able to view a partial eclipse.

To view the eclipse directly, you need eye protection certified for safe viewing. A safe method for viewing an eclipse indirectly is by a projection viewer. Here’s how to make and use an easy one:

• Get two stiff, but thin, pieces of white cardboard (uncoated paper plates will work).
• Use a pin or thumbtack to punch a smooth, small, round pinhole in the center of one piece.
• Stand with your back to the sun. Hold up the pin-holed piece so the sun shines on it.
• Place the second piece, which acts as a screen, on the ground in front of you or hold it so that an inverted image of the sun is projected onto it.
• Only use this viewer with your back to the sun. Never look through the pinhole at the sun!

Learn more about the solar eclipse, including great viewing places in the path of totality.