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.

They are recommending a kitchen colander.

Any point source of light will cast the shape of the sun/eclipse. If there's a hedge, for example, that let's a little light through the leaves onto the pavement there will be dozens them, possibly hundreds, all round your feet.

I'm going to be all quirky and whimsical, and use a dishwasher tablet box, rather than a cereal box. Tesco own brand: giving reduce, reuse, recycle whimsy.

I'm quite unique and interesting like that. It's just me - take me as you find me.

Is it safe to see through the bottom of a martini glass from inside a bar?

Im going in with the colander as well 😁

Keep your back to the sun and don’t TURN AROUND BRIGHT EYES

Oh wow!

Only if you have a Tia Maria based cocktail.

You've never used the video mode outside on your phone?

I can’t be arsed faffing around with cereal boxes and colanders. Will soak up the atmosphere. However, the first I heard of this eclipse was all the news about solar glasses being sold out. Do we not get more warning on these eclipses? Or is that a stupid question?

Pizza tray!

Experts (and enthusiasts) will have known about it for ages, they’re predicted for quite a long time in advance. It’s only been in the media for the average person to have been made aware relatively recently though.

I think there is a good chance it will be fine and it's better advice than just looking at it directly. However, it could.also damage your phone so now they are having to massively backtrack to stop complaints from people who followed the weather guys advice and have now damaged their phone camera. And there would be complaints because if 1000 people follow his advice then some will damage their phones.

Personally I'd much rather risk my phone than my eyes (especially as the risk to eyes is already higher). But I'd rather not risk either. But if the only alternative to looking with your eyes is using your phone camera in selfie mode then use your phone in selfie mode.

Anything further to add? You didn't add anything at all and had no reason to post on the thread other to insult people on it which, ironically, is what you are accusing us of doing.

I've heard from a very reliable source that the safest thing to do is stay inside and wait for Armageddon.

Are folk still being silly about what is right or wrong?

Are you ok?

There will still be the stupids clogging up A&E tonight with eye damage inspite of advice for safety.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5d19q9kngo

Please don't use a welding mask. This man damaged his eyes using one. You got away with it last time, but you might not this time.

Surely you are no more likly to accidently turn round and look at the sun behind you when looking at a phone screen as you would be when looking into a cereal box. The sun is behind you in both instances.

It will be on the TV

Sat here smug with my glasses that I got weeks ago when i first heard about it. I worked in a supermarket back in 99 and remember the last minute rush for them then.

Perhaps in the (near) future we’ll be saying that years ago, before GenAI, it was often stated that people were stupid because of the lack of personalised highly specific information readily available to them to answer every and any question.

And we’ll conclude that it wasn’t that.

There’ll be a lot of glasses tomorrow on ebay
I’m going to snap them up and make a killing on the 2090 total eclipse.

if 99 was anything to go by you will just have to pick them up off the floor, people just threw them down once it was over, i doubt they are much better now