Safe Viewing Techniques

To observe the transit of Venus directly you must protect your eyes at all times with proper solar filters.  However, do not let the requisite warnings scare you away from witnessing this rare spectacle.  You can experience the transit of Venus safely, provided you use proper eye protection. A variety of solar viewing devices available for purchase are listed at the Store page, or you can build a Sun Funnel for your telescope.

See http://youtu.be/4RGr9FcBrSM video or read Viewing the Transit & Eye Safety at june2012/eye-safety/280-viewing-the-transit-eye-safety for definitive advice on viewing the sun safely; by B. Ralph Chou, MSc, OD. 

Spanish Version of Sun Funnel: El Embudo Solar

Chuck

NOVEMBER_SHORT 10 |09:58
LAST_UPDATED2
Spanish version of Sun Funnel instructionsA Spanish version of the instructions for building a Sun Funnel now accompanies the English version (April 2013).  Thanks go to Manuel Alvarez of Instituto de Astronomia Sede Ensenada B.C. for translating the original text and dividing it into two parts:
Alvarez writes, "We are planning to observe the Transit of Venus at the same place that Joaquín Velásquez de León and Abad Chappe d'Auteroche observed the transit on June 3rd. 1769; (243 years ago); (i.e. "Visita de Santa Ana", near La Paz in Baja California Sur (Velasquez) and "Misión de San José del Cabo", Baja California Sur),  (Chappe). At the same time, we are considering building some Sun-Funnels for people to observe the Sun and the Transit."

Blind Love

Love is blind! Engraving from Harper's Weekly magazine (April 28, 1883) shows a woman viewing the transit of Venus through a telescope. Doing so with no solar filter would result in instant eye damage and likely blindness. Do not let June 5, 2012, be your blind date--use proper observing equipment and common sense.
Love is blind! Engraving from Harper's Weekly magazine (April 28, 1883) shows a woman viewing the transit of Venus through a telescope.  Doing so with no solar filter would result in instant eye damage and likely blindness.   Do not let June 5, 2012, be your blind date--use proper observing equipment and common sense.

Color image at http://www.nmm.ac.uk/rog/Transit%20of%20Venus.jpg

Unattended Equipment Hazards

Always be aware of the power of the sun.  Yes, it obviously can fry your eyes without your knowing it, for your eyeball has no pain receptors within.  But there are other burn hazards.  Keith Johnson of the Fleischmann Planetarium shares this story:

"Just to underscore the necessity of keeping constant watch on your telescope while it's pointed at the Sun... I was running a basic astronomy class lab in Tucson while I was in grad school one day, and we were observing the Sun with a white-light filter. I had placed a film container over the finder as usual. But apparently not firmly enough: it fell off at one point, and I didn't notice it.

One undergrad had come in her pajamas and bathrobe, believe it or not (it was an early-morning class). While she was peering intently through the main eyepiece, I noticed some smoke starting to come from the shoulder of her bathrobe. Sure enough, the finder had set her robe on fire! or at least smoldering..."

Safety Notice

Viewing the sun without proper equipment and/or techniques can result in serious eye injury and blindness.  The solar observing descriptions and comments listed in this website are not an endorsement of any particular technique or product.  Observers are responsible for their own eye safety.  This website accepts no responsibility for the conduct of others in viewing the sun.  For definitive advise on observing the sun, see Viewing the Transit & Eye Safety, by Dr. B. Ralph Chou, at http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/eye-safety/280-viewing-the-transit-eye-safety.

"It is never safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.  No filter should be used with an optical device (e.g. binoculars, telescope, camera) unless that filter has been specifically designed for that purpose and is mounted at the front end (i.e., end towards the Sun). Unsafe filters include all color film, black-and-white film that contains no silver, photographic negatives with images on them (x-rays and snapshots), smoked glass, sunglasses (single or multiple pairs), photographic neutral density filters and polarizing filters, computer disk media. Most of these transmit high levels of invisible infrared radiation which can cause a thermal retinal burn.  The fact that the Sun appears dim, or that you feel no discomfort when looking at the Sun through the filter, is no guarantee that your eyes are safe.  A person with eye damage from improper viewing may not notice the damage until hours later."

http://www.leaderdog.org/
For observers who refuse to view the sun safely--Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, Michigan.