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🇧🇪 Belgium /Health & Science

No eclipse glasses? How to safely watch the solar eclipse

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Several unsafe methods for viewing a solar eclipse are circulating online, including stacking sunglasses or using CDs.
  • Experts warn these methods can still allow harmful radiation to damage eyes, potentially causing blindness.
  • Safe viewing options include using telescopes with solar filters at public observatories, wearing welding masks with a shade of 14 or higher, or creating a camera obscura projection.

As a rare solar eclipse approaches, warnings are being issued against dangerous and ineffective methods for viewing the celestial event. Online advice suggesting the use of multiple pairs of sunglasses or looking through CDs is circulating, but experts stress these are not safe.

Then you might as well use nothing and look directly into the sun. And you really shouldn't do that. You can even go blind from it.

— Charles BruninxCharles Bruninx of the opticians association APOOB explains the dangers of looking at the sun without proper protection.

Charles Bruninx of the opticians association APOOB emphasizes that even layering sunglasses does not block enough harmful radiation. He strongly advises against looking directly at the sun, stating it can lead to blindness. Similarly, using a CD or DVD as a filter is no better than looking directly at the sun, according to Bruninx.

While direct viewing is strictly prohibited, there are several safe alternatives for experiencing the eclipse. Public observatories in Flanders offer telescopes equipped with solar filters. Additionally, the Urania public observatory is providing access to telescopes on the roof of the MAS in Antwerp. Another recommended safe method is using a welding mask with a protective shade of at least 14, which filters out both intense light and harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

You make a small hole in a piece of cardboard and let the sunlight fall through it onto a white surface – like a piece of paper. A small image of the sun appears on that paper. During the eclipse, you will see the moon move in front of the sun in it.

— Charles BruninxCharles Bruninx describes how to create a camera obscura for safe eclipse viewing.

For those without specialized equipment, online livestreams offer a viable option. VRT NWS and the European Space Agency (ESA) on YouTube will provide broadcasts, often with expert commentary. A more creative, safe approach is the camera obscura method. This involves projecting an image of the sun onto a surface through a small hole in a piece of cardboard, allowing viewers to observe the eclipse's progression without direct exposure.

You hold the colander towards the sun and you look at the shadow.

— PhilippePhilippe explains another camera obscura-like method using a colander.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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