Have you heard the news? An awesome spectacle will occur this Saturday, October 14th! At approximately 12:00pm noon we will experience a partial Solar Eclipse as the moon will pass between the sun and the Earth.
The partial eclipse will begin around 10:30am and will reach maximum eclipse by 12:03pm when 82% of the sun will be covered, so it will appear to be evening during the middle of the afternoon! It is forecasted the Acadiana area should have clear skies for viewing!
You will need special solar glasses, however, to view this event and preferably a telescope. Looking directly at this eclipse without proper protection is very dangerous to your eyesight and can cause severe and permanent eye damage.
Sunglasses DO NOT offer protection from looking directly at the sun. Check your local Lowe's hardware store for solar sunglasses that may be in stock.
No Solar Glasses? No Problem!
There are a few alternative ways to view the solar eclipse safely without causing damage to your eyes. Plus, some of these may be more fun than just the glasses anyway.
Welding glasses # 14
Shade number 14 (or higher) welder's glass is one of the most affordable and widely available filters you can use to observe the sun with unaided eyes if solar glasses are not available. The glass must completely cover your eyes at all times of observation.
Cell Camera
You can use your smartphone to watch the eclipse, but only if it has a front camera. Use the front camera, and turn your back to the sun. You can then safely watch the sun on your screen and can even record it for viewing pleasure again and again. Do not use the rear / main camera on your phone unless you are wearing solar glasses, while the camera doesn't have retinas that could be damaged by the Sun's rays, your eyes still could be as you'll be facing towards the Sun to take any pictures/videos.
Create Your Own Pinhole Viewer
The safest way to view the Sun is to make a pinhole projector using two pieces of cardboard. Punch a small hole, about the diameter of a pencil, in one of the pieces, and glue or tape a piece of white paper on the other piece of cardboard. That’s all there is to it! Now, by holding the pieces toward the sky so that sunlight shines through the hole, a tiny image of the Sun will appear on the paper. Although the small image is not as sharp as if it were projected through a telescope, it should to do the trick for viewing partial phases. You can also achieve this same effect by taking a few additional steps in making your own shoebox pinhole eclipse viewer. There's a video you can find here on how to make one.
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