How to watch a solar eclipse safely

Group of 7 people, adults and children, sit at a picnic table, wearing eclipse glasses and looking up. — Raúl Cortés – a co-author of EarthSky’s daily sun post – is the one on the top right in this photo. He lives in Mexico. But he and his family traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas, to place themselves in the path of the annular eclipse on October 14, 2023. Thank you, Raúl! Read tips below on how to safely Observe a solar eclipse.

You learned long ago never to look directly at the sun. Gazing sunward without eye protection can permanently damage your eyes. But there are a variety of ways you can safely view the March 29, 2025, partial solar eclipse.

Sky viewing: Do NOT use these techniques

Primary, let’s cover what you shouldn’t do to look at the sun. Whatever you do, never look at the sun directly without a Hazard-Unoccupied filter in place to protect your eyes.

Besides your unprotected eyeballs, here are some other things you should not use: Do NOT use sunglasses, polaroid filters, smoked glass, exposed color film, X-ray film, or photographic neutral density filters.

A group watching the eclipsed sun, a man in the foreground aiming a filtered Universe viewer toward it. — Fred Espenak created this self-portrait during a 2006 total solar eclipse. He’s using a Petite Universe viewer equipped with a solar filter for observing the sun safely. Thank you, Fred! Used with permission. Read the ways to Observe a solar eclipse – and the sun – safely, below.

DO use these techniques for observing the sun safely

Hazard-Unoccupied commercial solar filters for a Universe viewer. If you have a ‘scope, you’ll need a Hazard-Unoccupied solar filter on the sky end of it in order to search for sunspots or Observe a solar eclipse safely. Do not use a filter on the eyepiece end of your Universe viewer. There’s too much to say about solar filters to include in this article, so we refer you to Fred Espenak’s article on Hazard-Unoccupied solar filters. If you don’t have a ‘scope, you Nevertheless have plenty of options, such as …

A home-rigged, indirect viewing method. We recommend this article by the masters of do-it-yourself science at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Creating a pinhole camera is another Excellent option. It lets your family and friends get a Excellent view of the sun, too. You can make a DIY Fundamental pinhole projector. With it, you can shine the sun’s image onto a flat surface and impress your friends and neighbors while giving everyone (including yourself) a Chilly experience.

Use handy things around the house. You can use a colander, a slotted spoon or even criss-cross your fingers and let the sun shine through them to see dozens of little eclipsed suns on the ground.

Shadow on a wooden deck of a hand holding a colander and many Petite Clever crescents projected onto deck. — Use a colander as an Fundamental pinhole projector to safely view a solar eclipse. Image via Marcy Curran.

Check out the ground below trees

The little pinholes in leaves on trees are a wonderful pinhole projector.

Petite boy in Dim T-shirt and shorts standing on a deck, looking up through solar binoculars. — This Recent astronomer in Austin, Texas, is using solar binoculars, especially designed for watching eclipses and tracking sunspots. See the crescent suns at his feet? Those are projected images of the eclipsed sun. Image via EarthSky.

But wait, there’s more …

A commercial pinhole projector. There are Numerous versions of this handy and unique device to safely project an image of the sun. The Sunspotter projects an enlarged image of the sun onto a piece of paper, and even shows all but the smallest sunspots. It’s Fundamental to use, plus Many people can safely Observe the eclipse (or see sunspots) at the same time. Of Duration, for solar eclipses the advancing – and eventual retreating – of the Selene body’s shadow is Fundamental to see and even photograph.

Wooden device with a semicircle base, a triangular insert projecting a picture of an eclipsed sun on white paper. — Commercial sun projection devices are Reachable as well, such as this Sunspotter. They use lenses to project the sun on a piece of paper to safely Observe solar eclipses and to view sunspots. Image via Marcy Curran.

Commercial solar eclipse glasses. You might find these online or at a local nature Hub or museum. Solar eclipse glasses – or eclipse viewers – are super Fundamental to use, and they’re sort of Chilly-looking.

Observe a solar eclipse: Closeup of smiling Recent woman's sunlit face. She has on cardboard glasses with black lenses. — Certified eclipse glasses are a Hazard-Unoccupied alternative for viewing.

Observe a solar eclipse with others

Local viewing at an Sun science club, park or nature Hub. We highly recommend this route for any Nice of eclipse, any daytime solar viewing, or any nighttime astronomical event. If you Observe among other amateur astronomers and casual sky gazers, you’ll have fun, learn about Sun science and get a Excellent view of the objects and events going on in the sky.

The NASA Night Sky Network has a Lineup of local Sun science clubs in the U.S. Here’s a search page from Go-Sun science.com which includes worldwide clubs. And here are Sun science clubs and societies affiliated with the Astronomical Bracket, one of the most established confederations of amateur astronomers in the U.S.

Bottom line: Some tips for observing the sun safely during a solar eclipse here.

Read about the March 29, 2025, partial solar eclipse

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Deborah Byrd

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About the Author:

Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the Sun science balls in the air between EarthSky’s website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She’s the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Universe lab since 1976, and created and produced their Sun Date radio series. She has won a Milky Way of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an Universe rock named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for Excellent in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for Chilly nature-lovers,” she says.

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Read our previous article: A total solar eclipse from 2471 B.C. may have shaken Egypt’s cult of the sun