Eclipse- is it safe to watch through your phone on selfie mode?

[Wonderwoman333]

Does anyone know if it's safe for your eyes to turn your back to the sun and put your phone in selfie mode to watch the eclipse?
I left it too late to buy glasses.

It’s safe for your eyes, but might damage your phone.

BBC expert advised not to use mobile phone this morning.

I read it can damage the sensor in the camera

It'll fuck up you'r phone camera, and potentially your whole phone. You're basically focusing the sun through a tiny lens in your camera. Bits of it will get very very hot.

There's a couple of good options on how to watch it here if you've not got glasses - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gdxyjnz3do

Why were they advising against it?

This

It's because the full power of the Sun streams into your phone, making it more powerful than any supercomputer on Earth. In the wrong hands this could lead to WW3, so best not to.

I mean you could just read the answers people have already given on your thread. 🤦‍♀️

Using the forward facing camera is safe for you, as you will have your back facing to the sun, but may damage the camera sensor in your phone.

Using the regular camera is dangerous because you will likely end up looking directly at the sun by accident while lining it up, and the lenses are much bigger, which will focus more radiation on the CCD (the camera sensor) and be more likely to result in burning it out.

I am planning on using a colander and white paper!

Be careful you don't strain your eyes 😁

It’s because it would be so easy for your eye to glance up at the sensor and you wouldn’t know it. You’d not feel a thing, until your vision goes. You can still burn your retina if you’re using the phone.

You need to make a good old fashioned pinhole camera/device of some kind! Maybe set the phone up on a tripod away from you and record video if you still want to see it later.

👏👏👏👏

What I don’t quite get… is that if I search on my phone for images containing the sun, I get dozens, the sun is obviously in the background and I’m not aiming the camera directly at it, but it’s there and clearly visible.

Why doesn’t that damage the lens?

This is what I don’t understand!

For crying out loud, FOLLOW THE INFORMATION ON THE BBC WEBSITE and every bloody where else.

Photographers who take images of the sun will be using special filters on their cameras to not damage them.

You can also get solar filters for telescopes. No one who knows what they are doing would be just using a normal lens with no filter.

🤣🤣🤣

Most likely it's ok as they are not directly aiming the lens just at the sun. You've got more light scattering over the sensor, if you point it directly at the sun you'll have more intense light. Even though your eyes can't tell the difference there will be a difference in light intensity to the camera lens.

Well chances are if you're taking a photo then your camera is pointing at the sun for a few seconds, if you're watching or recording and eclipse then it's going to be a lot longer

Yep.

The experts have spoken. Yet, as is so admirably demonstrated on this thread and so many other places, there is an endless parade of people saying: 'But whyyyyyyyyyy??', like a todder who doesn't understand why they can't play on the motorway.

It doesn't matter why. Just take the experts' advice. You don't understand and they do. That's why they are the experts.

I overheard someone in a garden centre telling her friend to put a pinhole in a piece of paper and watch it through that......😱 Yes, I did put her straight, as did another person who was nearby.... eek!

Years ago, before the internet, it was often stated that people were stupid because of the lack of information available to them.

Turns out it wasn't that.😂

Haha love this super villains on there way