Here’s our classic step-by-step guide to make a pinhole viewer with a cardboard box.
OK, you want to view the Sun or an eclipse, but you don’t have an approved solar filter for your telescope. Maybe you don’t even have a telescope. No problem! I’ll bet you have a cardboard box. That and a few common supplies will let you build a pinhole camera/viewer that you can use to see an eclipse or the Sun.
Just follow the steps in the captions. Feel free to experiment with the size of the box, whether or not you leave the extra cardboard pieces attached, or the pin’s diameter. In fact, if you’re a clever soul, you may want to mount the box on a thin plywood base, which you then can attach to a sturdy camera tripod. That way, you won’t have to hold the box while observing.
This activity is great for school classes. (I suggest the teacher cuts out the hole.)
This story was first published in 2016 and has been updated.
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