Cut a one-inch hole in the center of one end of the box. (Two triangular shipping tubes, taped together, make a good solar viewer.) Cut out the cardboard at one end of each tube and tape those ends together with duct tape, so that light can travel the length of the tube.Дў. If you can't find a long tube, you can tape together two or more shorter ones. For example, if your box is six feet (72 inches) long, your solar image will be 72 x 0.01 = 0.72 inches in diameter, or about Вѕ inch.ДЎ. To estimate how big the image will be, multiply the length of the box by 0.01. The length of the box is important: the longer the box, the bigger your image of the sun will be. The simplest requires only a long box (at least six feet long), a piece of aluminum foil, a pin, and a sheet of white paper. The above video, вЂњHow to Build a Sun Viewer,вЂќ shows you a safe way to watch eclipses or other solar events by projecting the SunвЂ™s image. The instant the moon begins to move off the Sun's face, you must go back to using safe viewing techniques. Called totality, it lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes. This is the ONLY time: when the moon completely blocks the face of the Sun. If not, go back and re-ead the warning above.Дuring a total solar eclipse, there are a few short moments when itвЂ™s safe to look directly at the Sun. If you are now completely terrified about looking at the Sun, good!-you may keep reading. In additional, there are no pain sensors inside your eye-so you won't even know it's happening!

This literally burns your eye, causing permanent eye damage or blindness. If you look at the Sun, your eyeвЂ™s lens will concentrate the Sun's light and focus it onto a very small spot on the back of your eye, on the retina. So understand this: you have a lens just like that in your eye.

If so, youвЂ™ll remember that when sunlight is focused onto a small spot with a lens, it gets hot enough to start a fire. This is critical! Why? You may have taken a magnifying glass out into the sun and burned leaves with it. Never view the Sun with the naked eye or by looking through optical devices such as binoculars or telescopes! If you ever want to view a solar eclipse-whether itвЂ™s total, annular, or partial-the first thing you must know is this: This is probably the most important part of this website. If you are trying to document the event, thatвЂ™s great, although most of us would be better served by leaving the eclipse photography to the pros and just trying to enjoy it as much as possible in the moment.Be sure to prepare for viewing solar eclipses live: use these tips and techniques to get a clear view without injuring your eyes. Although, if you have one of these handy, you might as well use it to look directly at the sun rather than use your phone as an intermediary. You can keep your phone safe the same way you keep your eyes safe - by placing an appropriate solar filter over the lens. How risky this is really depends on what phone you own (Androids seems to be more prone to damage, iPhones less so) and how long you expose said phone to the eclipse. This can cause damage to your phone, including the burning out of pixels on your screen. But the dimming of the sun during a partial eclipse can confuse your phone, too, and cause your phone screen to burn too brightly where there is a sliver of sun. If you point your phone at the full, bright sun, it will immediately respond by darkening the entire view, just as your eyes are averse to staring directly at the sun. Like your eyes, itвЂ™s not built for the rare and strange occurrence of a solar eclipse. But itвЂ™s a bad idea to try it unless youвЂ™re aware of the risks to your phone and your eyes, and you take the proper precautions to avoid them. For those of us who waited too long to snag a pair of safe, legit solar-viewing glasses, using a phone as an intermediary to view the eclipse sounds like a clever, accessible hack.

How to see the eclipse with your selfie