If you live in the United States and missed the last total solar eclipse of 2017, good news! You will get another chance. There will be a total solar eclipse passing through Texas and the Midwestern states on April 8th. Remember that during a solar eclipse, the moon’s shadow falls on the Earth. It’s going to look really weird in this shadow. But it’s also awesome.
Even if you are not on the path to wholeness, you can still see something. All continental countries experience at least a partial solar eclipse. (Check out the map on NASA’s eclipse page here.) And should I tell you this? Even if the moon covers most of the sun, do not look at the sun without special glasses. You can also get a safe solar spotter before the big event.
But there is another way to view the eclipse without glasses. This is using a pinhole projector. It’s very simple to make and easy to use. All you need is something flat like cardboard. Then drill a hole with a pin. That’s pretty much it. When the sun’s light passes through the hole, an image is projected onto a flat surface, such as a sidewalk.
If you do this on a typical day, you will see a circular dot of light. You might think it’s because the hole is round. However, during a solar eclipse, you can see the moon appear as a crescent as it passes in front of the sun. It’s nice and safe for your eyes.
Actually, there’s no need to do that. make Pinhole viewers are already around us. When you stand under a tree, the small spaces between the leaves act as pinholes, projecting a small crescent-shaped image. Here are some photos taken during the 2017 solar eclipse:
Fun with pinholes
Just for fun, I have a question for you. Most pinholes are round (because the pin has a cylindrical shaft). But what happens if you change the round hole to a square hole? In what shape does a round sun project onto the ground? Will it be a circle? It must be square, right? Or maybe it’s a squircle! What about triangular holes? So what happens then?
I actually have a card from PUNCH (Coronal and Heliospheric Unified Polarimeter) that shows this with three holes: circular, triangular, and square. Check it.