Sunday, August 20, 2017

How to: Last minute, all-expenses-spared yogurt pinhole solar eclipse viewer

I'm not going to be able to see the totality because my priorities are obviously wrong. 

But I still want to see as much of the eclipse as I can, so I made this yogurt container solar viewer today (the day before the eclipse) at 6pm (much later and I wouldn't have been able to test it before the 21st). 

You'll need:

  • some blank white paper
  • aluminim foil
  • a yogurt container
  • scissors / knife
  • a pin or needle or nail
  • optional tape 

1. Cut out the bottom of the container

2. trace and cut a piece of paper the same size as the lid. Put the paper inside the lid.
 3. Cut out a little door from the edge of the container down the side. This will be your viewing port.

4. Now wrap the yogurt container in a layer of aluminum foil. This makes your viewer opaque.
 5. Using a pin, create a small pinhole in the top of the viewer (what was once the bottom of the container)
 6. Your viewer should now look like this.

7. Run outside and test your solar viewer! That little round dot is the sun. You can make it larger by moving the lid further away from the container.

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