Eclipse: Dos and Don'ts

As you step out into the sun today, remember not to look up. Viewing the sun during eclipse is perhaps not the best thing to do. But today, when the sun grows dark for the longest time in this millennium, some are gearing up to witness the phenomenon, abiding by the do's and don’ts of eclipses. Beginning at 11.16 am in Bangalore, the eclipse will last till 3.15 pm in the city and be at its peak at around 1.20 pm.

Celestial body lovers of the city can watch the phenomenon, thanks to the eclipse glasses Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium is selling and to the innovative methods people have come up with to view the eclipse indirectly.

Arrangements have been made for safe viewing of the eclipse today between 11.20 am to 3.00 pm at the planetarium.

Images projected from telescopes set up at the planetarium will be shown to the people gathered at the venue.

“I am gearing up to watch the eclipse. I bought the eclipse glasses and am planning to watch it from home.

Hopefully, it won’t be a cloudy day,” says Sheena Joseph, a resident of Bangalore. Though Bangalore will witness a partial eclipse, sun coverage at maximum will be around 84 per cent.

Wearing sunglasses won’t block out the undesired rays and the sun’s disk can be viewed through suitable filtration techniques that will block the harmful part of the sun’s radiation. Viewing the Sun on a display screen of a video or digital camera is safe, though the camera itself may be damaged by direct exposure to the sun. If you can’t get hold of the special eclipse glasses, there are other ways by which you can observe the phenomenon.

In the pinhole projection method, you need two pieces of cardboards. Make a small hole in one of the cardboards and hold this above the other one. Move the cards in line with the sun and you will see the sun’s image projected on the bottom card. The mirror projection method is a little more complicated. You will need al mirror and an envelope. Tear a ragged hole about the size of a thumbnail in the front of the envelope and put the mirror inside the envelope with the shiny side facing the hole. Hold the mirror towards the sun and reflect the image on to a facing wall, door or flat surface. This is your screen. You will see an image of the sun reflected onto the screen. But remember not to look at the mirror! You could also use a welding glass (shade number 14) to view the sun. If you are not sure of the shade number, it’s best to try one of the other methods. A welding glass that is less than shade 14 allows too much light to pass.