| Never look at the sun!
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The November eclipse of the sun will not be total in Parramatta, or indeed anywhere
in Australia at all. Look here to see a map which shows the extent of totality.
Therefore it will not be safe to look at the sun at any time!
(Unless you are in the Antarctic during totality.)
There are really only three safe ways to view the eclipse from Parramatta:
- Through a type-approved filter,
- By projection or pinhole view, or
- On a TV or computer screen.
Filter
There are a number of safe solar filters available.
All of them are specifically designed for the purpose. They can usually only be
purchased at specialty telescope shops. Maybe you know an amateur astronomer who can
help you here.
Don't use jury-rigged filters such as welder's glasses, mylar films, exposed photo films etc.
You must not trust your eyesight to the tenuous integrity of these devices.
Projection
This involves projecting an image of the sun onto paper, which may then be safely viewed.
If done with a telescope, then the objective lens must be stopped down considerably (say, to about 10mm)
to avoid projecting an overly-bright image. (Remember how bright the dot you make with a magnifying
glass is?)
A better way: Make a simple pinhole camera. Any piece of card or paper, with a pinhole in it,
will produce a faithful image of the sun and of the eclipse onto the ground, a wall or another
piece of paper.
This diagram shows a very good way for the casual observer to view the eclipse safely.
On a Computer Screen
If all goes well, I plan to have a real-time display of the eclipse visible on the screen
of a laptop computer, connected to a camera attached to a telecope with a solar filter.
This should provide the easiest-to-see, safest views of the eclipse.
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