Don’t accidentally go blind, people.
Don’t accidentally go blind, people.
On Monday, Aug. 21, the moon will pass between the sun and the Earth, lining up for a total solar eclipse in some parts of the country. Other areas, like New York, will experience a partial solar eclipse but everyone —even people in Alaska and Hawaii —will experience at least some version of the eclipse. Regardless of where you are, it is dangerous for your eyes to look directly up at the eclipse without special glasses or through a homemade viewing box.
You’ll need a cereal box, a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, scissors, tape, aluminum foil and a sharp object like a pushpin or a needle.
Here are six simple steps for preserving your eyes and viewing the eclipse safely.
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1. Place a cereal box standing up on a piece of paper and trace its long, narrow outline.
2. Cut out the traced rectangle and line the base of the inside of the box with it. Secure with tape.
3. With the top flaps of the cereal box closed, cut out an inch-long rectangle from either end of it.
4. Tear a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover the left hole that was just cut from the top flaps of the box. Tape it into place and then poke a pinhole through the center.
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5. During the eclipse, stand with the sun behind you and look through the uncovered, rectangular hole you cut out of the top of your cereal box.
6. Watch and enjoy a projection of the eclipsed sun, now visible on the sheet of white paper you taped to the inside of the box.
