00:00Ah, this is so cool!
00:05On August 21st, people across the United States will have a...
00:10...a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of a total solar eclipse.
00:14During an eclipse...
00:15...the Sun, Earth, and Moon align during the daytime so that the Moon blocks the...
00:20...the light of the Sun, either partially or completely.
00:22Even during a total eclipse, looking to...
00:25...directly at the Sun can cause severe eye damage.
00:27So what are your options?
00:29Well, you could...
00:30...and build a personal solar eclipse viewer.
00:32Kind of like a movie theater for an audience of one.
00:35Here's what you'll need.
00:36A cardboard box.
00:38Any type of shoe box will do.
00:39A piece of white paper.
00:40A pin or a needle.
00:41A piece of tin foil.
00:42An exacto knife.
00:43And some tape.
00:45So...
00:46...let's get started.
00:47First, we're going to cut a small hole in the box, about one...
00:50...and stitch across near the top.
00:52Next, we are going to...
00:55...cover that hole with a piece of tin foil.
00:58Then, we are going to...
01:00...poke a hole in the tin foil.
01:02Right in the middle.
01:03So the pin hole is going to be your aperture.
01:05That's how the image of the Sun is going to project on the inside of the box.
01:09So now we're going to...
01:10...tape a piece of paper to the inside.
01:12And that's going to be your projection screen.
01:14And we're taping it right across...
01:15...from the hole you just made.
01:16Now the last thing you're going to need to do is cut a viewing hole.
01:19And you're going to do that...
01:20...on the side of the box that's adjacent to the screen...
01:23...and a little bit closer to your aperture.
01:25And you want your hole to be about an inch in diameter.
01:28So you have...
01:30...your viewing hole...
01:31...your aperture...
01:32...and your projection screen.
01:33Let's go test it!
01:35So to test your viewer...
01:36...you're going to take it outside on a sunny day.
01:38Now remember...
01:39...don't look to...
01:40...directly at the Sun.
01:41You're going to hold up your viewer...
01:42...so that...
01:43...the aperture...
01:44...the piece of tinfoil...
01:45...the hole in it.
01:46That's facing the Sun.
01:47The Sun is going to project through that inside the box.
01:49And what you're going to do...
01:50...is you're going to look inside the viewing hole...
01:52...and you will see...
01:54...a projection...
01:55...of the Sun...
01:56...inside...
01:57...the box.
01:58I can totally see this on!
02:00And so during a total eclipse...
02:02...you'll be able to see the shadow of the Moon...
02:04...moving across the Sun...
02:05...and without frying your eyeballs.
02:07This is Mindy Weisberger for Live Science.
02:09Happy Eclipse Viewers!
02:10Happy Eclipse!
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