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Another upload from the solar eclipse a few days ago. On a whim in the minutes leading up to the main event and realizing I wouldn't find my solar glasses in time, I looked up how to make one of those eclipse boxes for indirect viewing.

Making one is pretty simple:
Take a box, the longer the better. If its dark all the way down with no cracks for light to get in, great. All I had was a cereal box.
Stick a solid color at the bottom of your box, white is best for viewing but really any will do in a pinch. In my case, it was a paper towel.
Make an opening that you can look through in the side.
Cover the top opening with aluminum foil. Ensure that it is not crinkled, and secure it to the box.
Poke a pinhole into the foil.
Now that your box is done, go outside and angle it so that the eclipsed sun shows up at the bottom of your box and take a peek.

You'll see a reversed image of the eclipse if you've done it right. Mine is a little grainy, but that's probably due to the paper towel. Guess I would have been better off with no paper towel at all but oh well.

All things considered, it's a neat trick! I think instead of doing it spur of the moment, I'll do a little work ahead of time so its all ready to go the day of next time!

Description

Another upload from the solar eclipse a few days ago. On a whim in the minutes leading up to the main event and realizing I wouldn't find my solar glasses in time, I looked up how to make one of those eclipse boxes for indirect viewing.

Making one is pretty simple:
Take a box, the longer the better. If its dark all the way down with no cracks for light to get in, great. All I had was a cereal box.
Stick a solid color at the bottom of your box, white is best for viewing but really any will do in a pinch. In my case, it was a paper towel.
Make an opening that you can look through in the side.
Cover the top opening with aluminum foil. Ensure that it is not crinkled, and secure it to the box.
Poke a pinhole into the foil.
Now that your box is done, go outside and angle it so that the eclipsed sun shows up at the bottom of your box and take a peek.

You'll see a reversed image of the eclipse if you've done it right. Mine is a little grainy, but that's probably due to the paper towel. Guess I would have been better off with no paper towel at all but oh well.

All things considered, it's a neat trick! I think instead of doing it spur of the moment, I'll do a little work ahead of time so its all ready to go the day of next time!