Safe Viewing Techniques

To observe the transit of Venus directly you must protect your eyes at all times with proper solar filters.  However, do not let the requisite warnings scare you away from witnessing this rare spectacle.  You can experience the transit of Venus safely, provided you use proper eye protection. A variety of solar viewing devices available for purchase are listed at the Store page.

See http://youtu.be/4RGr9FcBrSM video or read Viewing the Transit & Eye Safety at june2012/eye-safety/280-viewing-the-transit-eye-safety for definitive advice on viewing the sun safely; by B. Ralph Chou, MSc, OD. 

Build a Sun Funnel for Group Viewing with a Telescope

Building a device to view the sun safelyOne of the best ways for a group of people to view the magnified sun safely is to use a rear screen projection that is enclosed.  Because no one is exposed to the intense light path, a Sun Funnel allows a crowd of people to see concurrently the transit of Venus, sunspots, or eclipses.   

Parts for building a Sun Funnel for safe solar viewing.After leading a hands-on workshop to make the inexpensive devices, AAS Education & Outreach Coordinator Richard Tresch Fienberg wrote and illustrated Build a Sun Funnel for Group Viewing of Sunspots and the Transit of Venus (updated March 2012).   The how-to manual gives clear, step-by-step assembly instructions and sources for inexpensive materials. 

See Eye Safety for more techniques and advice for viewing the sun safely. 

SPANISH VERSION; courtesy of Manuel Alvarez, Instituto de Astronomia Sede Ensenada B.C.

Note: Da-Lite screen can be purchased from http://www.bigscreencenter.com/Venus-Transit-Sun-Funnel-s/4476.htm.

Blind Love

Love is blind! Engraving from Harper's Weekly magazine (April 28, 1883) shows a woman viewing the transit of Venus through a telescope. Doing so with no solar filter would result in instant eye damage and likely blindness. Do not let June 5, 2012, be your blind date--use proper observing equipment and common sense.
Love is blind! Engraving from Harper's Weekly magazine (April 28, 1883) shows a woman viewing the transit of Venus through a telescope.  Doing so with no solar filter would result in instant eye damage and likely blindness.   Do not let June 5, 2012, be your blind date--use proper observing equipment and common sense.

Color image at http://www.nmm.ac.uk/rog/Transit%20of%20Venus.jpg

Unattended Equipment Hazards

Always be aware of the power of the sun.  Yes, it obviously can fry your eyes without your knowing it, for your eyeball has no pain receptors within.  But there are other burn hazards.  Keith Johnson of the Fleischmann Planetarium shares this story:

"Just to underscore the necessity of keeping constant watch on your telescope while it's pointed at the Sun... I was running a basic astronomy class lab in Tucson while I was in grad school one day, and we were observing the Sun with a white-light filter. I had placed a film container over the finder as usual. But apparently not firmly enough: it fell off at one point, and I didn't notice it.

One undergrad had come in her pajamas and bathrobe, believe it or not (it was an early-morning class). While she was peering intently through the main eyepiece, I noticed some smoke starting to come from the shoulder of her bathrobe. Sure enough, the finder had set her robe on fire! or at least smoldering..."

Safety Notice

Viewing the sun without proper equipment and/or techniques can result in serious eye injury and blindness.  The solar observing descriptions and comments listed in this website are not an endorsement of any particular technique or product.  Observers are responsible for their own eye safety.  This website accepts no responsibility for the conduct of others in viewing the sun.  For definitive advise on observing the sun, see Viewing the Transit & Eye Safety, by Dr. B. Ralph Chou, at http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/eye-safety/280-viewing-the-transit-eye-safety.

"It is never safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.  No filter should be used with an optical device (e.g. binoculars, telescope, camera) unless that filter has been specifically designed for that purpose and is mounted at the front end (i.e., end towards the Sun). Unsafe filters include all color film, black-and-white film that contains no silver, photographic negatives with images on them (x-rays and snapshots), smoked glass, sunglasses (single or multiple pairs), photographic neutral density filters and polarizing filters, computer disk media. Most of these transmit high levels of invisible infrared radiation which can cause a thermal retinal burn.  The fact that the Sun appears dim, or that you feel no discomfort when looking at the Sun through the filter, is no guarantee that your eyes are safe.  A person with eye damage from improper viewing may not notice the damage until hours later."

http://www.leaderdog.org/
For observers who refuse to view the sun safely--Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, Michigan.