Sometimes you want to view the Sun, perhaps during a solar
eclipse or the Transit of Venus.
It is very dangerous to look directly at the Sun, even if you're
wearing sunglasses. It can badly damage your eyesight.
Here is one way to look at the Sun safely, using a pinhole
projector.
What you need:
- Long box (if you can't find a long box, tape two smaller boxes
together). The longer the box, the bigger your image will be.
- White paper
- Scissors
- Foil
- Pin
- Sellotape
How to:
Ask an adult for help using scissors and pins
- Cut a square in the centre of one end of the box, around 5cm x
5cm.
- Sellotape a piece of foil over the square.
- Use the pin to poke a small hole in the centre of the
foil.
- Sellotape white paper to the inside of the other end of the
box.
- Stand with the Sun behind you. Hold the box upside down so the
pinhole is behind you. Make sure you can't see the foil.
- The Sun will shine through the pinhole. An image of the Sun
will be projected on the white paper.
See Kitchen Pantry
Scientist for pictures showing how to make a pinhole
projector.
If you want, you can use two pieces of cardboard instead of a
box. One piece of card will have foil and a pinhole in it, the
other piece of card will be white.
Hold the pinhole as far away from the white card as you can. The
farther away you can hold the pinhole, the bigger your image will
be.
What's happening?
Light from the Sun enters through the pinhole. The pinhole in
the foil projects the light onto the back of the box, which acts as
a screen.