To tell DD's school that if they won't let her watch the solar eclipse, I'll keep her home until its over?

[listsandbudgets]

I asked today what they were doing about it and the head said they were just carrying on as normal.

I want DD to see it. DD is desperate to see it. Its 90% here so worth seeing. We can easily make a pin hole projector though I will try to get some eye protection.

AIBU?

Just found some glasses on bristolcameras.co.uk

V excited. Ds is space crazy - it's in his genes

I certainly think that's reasonable, though I may be biased, I have a master's degree in astronomy.

If you have two index cards, a pin, and a clear sky, you can make a pinhole projector. This isn't as cool as seeing the eclipse through the glasses, but it is better than nothing. Poke a hole with the pin in one of the index cards. Then hold the card with the hole between the other card and the sun. If you have the cards right, you will be able to see an image of the Sun on the card without a hole (never look through the hole). You may want to practice this before the eclipse so you aren't spending a lot of time during the eclipse trying to get it right.

Sometimes during a solar eclipse, you can see projected images of the Sun in the shadows cast by leafy trees. This is very cool (I don't know if your trees have leaves on them yet or not). Don't look at the sun through the leaves, just look at the shadows cast by the tree.

Never drive while wearing eclipse glasses. They're NOT the same as regular sunglasses (which should, of course, not be used for eclipse viewing). You probably won't be able to see anything other than the sun through them.

Don't try to make homemade eclipse glasses, either. It's too risky. Some things that may make it appear to be safe to look at the sun only filter out visible light, but infrared light, which is not visible, can damage your eyes just like visible light. Something like Pop-Tart wrappers might have holes or rips in it that you don't notice until it's too late. The retina doesn't have pain receptors, so you won't be able to feel the damage as it happens. You might not see the visual effects of damage for a few hours afterward. This is not something you want to mess with.

The light of the eclipsed Sun is not dangerous unless you look at it. It's the same as normal sunlight, but some of it is blocked. It's safe to look at the totally eclipsed Sun, but it's not safe to look at the Sun during any of the partial phases of the eclipse, or during a partial eclipse (which is what you're getting in the UK this time).

You could use a pinhole camera to project the image of the Sun onto a piece of paper on a hard surface, and trace the image at different times during the eclipse. This might make a good show and tell project.

!!!stupid question alert!!!

will normal sunglasses not work the same?

Last time it happened a parent at my DC primary school sued the school because she said he had looked at the sun and his eye sight had been damaged. There was a huge fuss. It was in the press. ( He shows no sign of any damage now!) Makes schools very wary.

Reboot - they just arent dark enough.

dd is going to ask her subject teacher if they can go out. I'm sending her with a few pairs of eclipse glasses.

On the weather thread (linked to above) I'm doing a bit of a count down to what the weather will be like.

will normal sunglasses not work the same?

No, normal sunglasses will not work the same as eclipse glasses. A safe solar filter has to filter out at least 99.9968% of incoming light. It has to do this across all the wavelengths of light (visible and not) that can do damage to the eye. Sunglasses that did this would be so dark that pretty much the only thing you'd be able to see through them would be the Sun. Sunglasses that transmit less than 8% of incoming light are not suitable for driving, and driving while wearing such sunglasses is illegal in some places, including the UK (it's a very, very bad idea everywhere).

I'm planning to keep DD off to watch the Eclipse. It's only 2 hours in the morning so I don't think the school will mind too much.

Ooh, I shall try to get glasses, I didn't know this was happening. But, how do you know you're buying genuine safe glasses instead of cheap knock-offs?

Do tell DD to be careful with the eclipse glasses. The ones I've used have had paper frames and plastic lenses that were like very thick plastic wrap. They're not that durable, and obviously they're not safe if they're damaged.

I've used some eclipse glasses like these before.

We've had to pay £1.25 for some glasses for dd to watch it at school. They're making a special day of it.

Make sure you get proper glasses from a reputable retailer - I almost fried my eyeballs last time (duh).

So, crappy paper and plastic glasses are selling on eBay for at least £12. Shade 14 replacement welder lenses (which are apparently the shade needed) are selling for £1. Hmmm, which shall I buy.....?

The glasses should have a CE mark with them. The Sky at Night magazine has a free pair with the latest issue.

When I was a kid and we watched an eclipse in the 1960s (?) we used exposed camera film as a shield because it goes pretty dark.

I think we used a double layer?

It's the coating on the film I think that keeps the glare down?

That might be worth googling?

dont just go and do it, Google it first!!!

My school is doing work about it in the week before, we have enough eye protection for two classes at a time to go out to look, and are starting the 'viewing' at 9am.

Some parents delighted, others complaining that it's too risky . You can't please everyone !!

If you're going to use exposed camera film, it has to be the right kind. Color film or chromogenic film are not suitable. It has to be totally exposed and developed black and white film with silver. Exposed color film is particularly dangerous- it looks like it is safe, but it transmits almost 50% of infrared light. You can't see infrared light, but it can still damage your retinas. I wouldn't use exposed film, because I don't know enough about film to know that I'm getting the right kind.

I will have a very safe filter between me and the Sun when this eclipse happens. Several thousand miles of rock is a very effective solar filter (unless you're looking for solar neutrinos)

I had to watch the transit of Venus in 2012 online, because of another very effective solar filter- a sky overcast with clouds. That's the Pittsburgh solar filter...

Thanks for info geeky!

Best not to risk it then!

geeky
What is your opinion of the safety of watching the eclipse through the reflection in a bowl of water? Initial reaction here is NO! But am happy to be corrected.

I'd say no to that as it would be very frustrating! You can if you have binoculars or a telescope project on to card but in a billion years obviously You must never look through the instrument.

Weather thread

We were all allowed time off work to watch the 1999 one . Still work for the sane company now but doubt we will be afforded the same - how times change !

Absolutely YA not BU. Any school that "carries on as normal" through a once in 20 year event is not educating its pupils IMO, and you absolutely should keep her off!