If you can’t get your hands on a pair solar eclipse glasses, experts say there’s still a ways to go enjoy the event safely.
There are also dangerous alternatives, including wearing your normal sunglasses — or even packing two or three.
“There is no amount of sunglasses that people can put on that can compensate for the filtering that standard ISO filters and tinted glasses provide,” said Dr. Jason P. Brinton, an ophthalmologist and medical director at Brinton Vision in St. Louis.
You also shouldn’t view the eclipse through a camera lens, phone, binoculars or telescope, according to NASA, even when wearing eclipse glasses. The sun’s rays can burning through the lens and cause serious eye injury.
So what can you use? Here’s what doctors advise:
How to make eclipse safe glasses at home
If you don’t have traditional solar eclipse glasses, Brinton said you can also look through No. 14 welder’s goggles (for people who may have access) or aluminized mylar plastic sheets.
Just as with traditional solar eclipse glasses, Brinton said it’s important to make sure the material you’re looking through is completely intact.
“Make sure there are no scratches or damage,” he said.
How to make a pinhole projector for safe eclipse viewing
Without glasses? Indirect viewing is another way to enjoy the eclipse without damaging your eyes.
Brinton said there are several ways to view the event indirectly, including a homemade pinhole projector. Here’s how to make one:
- Poke a small hole in a piece of paper
- Turn your face away from the sun, holding the paper out so the sunlight hits it
- Watch the projection of the sun with a hole on the ground (or on a second piece of paper you hold underneath), seeing it go from a full circle and gradually disappear
“If you’re in the path of totality, of course, it completely disappears.” Brinton said. “It’s an indirect way of looking at it that’s appropriate.”
How to make an eclipse watcher out of a cereal box
If you want to make your indirect viewing tool a little more complicated, you can make an eclipse viewer with a few more materials around the house. This is how:
- Find a small box (cereal and shoe boxes are popular options)
- Cut two holes in the bottom of the box
- Using tape, cover one of the holes with a piece of paper or aluminum foil punched with a small hole
- Turn your face away from the sun, allowing the light to hit the hole
- Looking through the remaining opening to the inside of the box, watch the projection of the sun go from full circle to eclipse
Ray Petelin
Need a preview? CBS Pittsburgh meteorologist Ray Petelin demonstrates an easy step-by-step how to make a cereal box hole viewer that you can watch below.
Doctors share how to make sure your eclipse viewers are safe
“Theoretically, since you’re not looking directly at the sun during the eclipse or partial eclipse, (eclipse watchers) should be safe,” said Dr. Yehia Hashad, an ophthalmologist, retina specialist and chief medical officer at the eye care company. Bausch + Lomb. “Having said that, though, it’s the implementation that sometimes makes us worry.”
Why? Sometimes people have a little look at the sun to point the box or hole in the right direction, he said. This can happen especially often with children who may not understand the consequences of viewing the eclipse.
“That’s what sometimes makes us conservative about this method,” Hashad said. “It’s always a concern unless you’re in control of the implementation of this, especially with children, as they are very vulnerable to such situations.”
Why do you need a special total solar eclipse viewer?
Eye protection during the eclipse is important to prevent eye damage.
“If one looks briefly at the eclipse, if it’s extremely brief, in some cases there will be no damage, but the damage can happen even within a fraction of a second in some cases,” Brinton said. “As an ophthalmologist, I’ve seen patients who have what’s called eclipse or solar retinopathy.”
Signs and symptoms of eye damage after viewing an eclipse include headaches, blurred vision, dark spots, changes in the way you see color, lines, and shapes.
