Safe Sunwatching
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Never view the Sun directly with the naked eye or with any unfiltered optical device, such as binoculars or a telescope!

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If you're thinking of viewing the Sun, your first concern should always be eye safety. Serious eye damage can result from even a brief glimpse of our star.

One safe way to observe sunspots or eclipses is to project an image of the Sun through a telescope or binoculars onto a white screen -- paper plates, walls and sidewalks all work nicely. If you're using a telescope, be sure that any small finder telescope is capped. If you're using binoculars, keep the cover on one of the two tubes. Never look through a telescope or binoculars to point them at the Sun -- partial or total blindness will almost surely result.

On the screen you should see a bright circle of light. This is the disc of the Sun. Adjust the distance between the screen and the telescope until the disk is about the size of a small paper plate. The image will probably be blurred; focus your telescope until the circle becomes sharp. Using this method you can see considerable detail in and around sunspot groups.

Pinhole projectors and certain types of solar filters can also afford a safe view of the Sun. Pinhole projectors usually produce a small and unsatisfying image, but they are better than nothing if you don't have a telescope or binoculars.

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