One is “direct thermal injury,” caused by near-infrared radiation, meaning the light can literally burn your eye. There are two types of damage sunlight can inflict. 18 article for JAMA Ophthalmology, two eye experts explained what actually happens to your eye if you look at an eclipse. But most of the US isn’t in that path. For all those people, to look even for a moment without certified protective eyewear can cause permanent damage. “The safest and most inexpensive method of viewing an eclipse is by projection, in which a pinhole or small opening is used to cast the image of the sun on a screen placed a half-meter or more beyond the opening,” NASA says, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.For those in the path of “totality,” when the moon completely blocks the sun’s face and reveals its corona, it will be safe for a few minutes to look directly at the eclipse with your naked eyes, according to NASA.

Viewing a projection of the eclipse - which this contraption will help you do - is recommended by NASA.

If you look inside the tube at the large rectangle, “you should see a bright, white image of the sun suddenly appear at the very end of the tube,” Fulco said. Then, cut a large rectangle at the other end of the tube, which will serve as a viewing window.ĭuring the eclipse, put the tube over your shoulder and have the small hole pointed to the sun. Using the awl, punch a smaller hole into that foil. Using the hobby knife, you need to make a small hole at the end of the tube then tape a piece of foil over the hole you created. To create a solar viewer, you’ll need a shipping tube, tinfoil, a hobby knife, an awl, tape and a marker. NASA Solar Eclipse Educator Charles Fulco visited TIME for Kids earlier this month to explain how to create a solar viewer with a few household materials. NEXT: Watch the Whole Total Solar Eclipse in 4 Minutes Make your own eclipse viewer There are still safe ways to view the eclipse without special glasses:

However, glasses or another form of protection must be used while watching the partial eclipse, in which the sun is not fully blocked, which will be visible in all of North America.īut if you weren’t able to get eclipse glasses, after some retailers across the country sold out and others have recalled them after discovering they were faulty, don’t fret. Those looking at the eclipse within the path of totality - where the moon will completely block the sun along a path spanning from Oregon to South Carolina - can view the eclipse without protection during the two minutes or so that the sun is completely out of view.

How to see the eclipse with no glasses