If you're looking forward to Monday's solar eclipse but can't get your hands on eclipse glasses for whatever reason, there's another option to watch the spectacle safely.
Chances are you have the common household items needed to construct your own eclipse viewer, like a cardboard box, piece of paper, tape and aluminum foil.
You might be wondering - how would such a device work?
A pinhole eclipse viewer would project an image through a small hole in an object, onto a surface, allowing you to safely observe light, according to the Adler Planetarium. You could then project the light onto a wall, the floor or a surface on the inside of your pinhole projector.
NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Brant Miller and Telemundo Chicago Meteorologist Maricela Vazquez broke down the step-by-step process of making an eclipse viewing box on Friday night during special eclipse coverage.
Supplies
First off, here'e everything you need:
- Large cardboard box
- A piece of paper
- Tape
- Aluminum Foil
- Scissors
- Pin
Step-by-step instructions
- Step 1: Grab a large cardboard box. While you might have heard of people using cereal boxes, you'll want something with a longer focal length, according to Miller.
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- Step 2: Take a white piece of paper and tape it onto one side of the box's interior.
- Step 3: On the opposite side of where you put the piece of paper, cut a small square from the cardboard.
- Step 4: Grab a piece of aluminum foil and tape it over the hole, making sure the hole is completely covered.
- Step 5: Using a pin, make a small hole in the center of the foil.
