Sunday, May 20, 2012

DIY Solar Eclipse Filters

!!! I am not an opthamologist or a scientist, 
so follow at your own risk.!!!

If your at all like me, you probably didn't give any thought to the solar eclipse until today. I was reading an article today about how we probably wouldn't be seeing another solar eclipse for quite a while and I got jealous of all those who had the foresight to prepare to witness today eclipse. So I set to work finding a way to remedy this unfortunate situation.

I did couple of Google searches and came across a simple solution. Apparently a DVD and CD contain a reflective film that when removed works as a rather nice substitute in a pinch for a Solar Filter.

So here's the steps:

Step 1:
Grab a blank CD or DVD

Step 2:
If you look closely, you can see where the two pieces of plastic are joined together.
Use a razor blade to split the the two pieces apart and then slowly and carefully separate the DVD or CD.

You then have two sections, toss the top portion of the DVD or CD.

Step 3:
I then cut the DVD or CD into two filters.

Step 4:
Hold the Filter up to your eyes and you can then see the sun and the Solar Eclipse!

Step 5:
I would suggest not gazing at the sun for very long but it works nicely!

You can also use the film to make a Filter for your camera
Here's a link to YouTube Video on how to do that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blKbwnKiZus