Viewing the solar eclipse
Eye safety advice for viewing the partial eclipse on Saturday 29 March 2025.
Between 10am and 12 noon the moon will pass across the face of the sun, creating a partial eclipse. The phenomenon will be visible across the UK. The best place to witness it will be northwest Scotland where around half of the sun will be obscured when the eclipse reaches its peak shortly after 11am.
If you're planning to view this amazing spectacle, make sure you protect your eyes.
Looking directly at the sun can result in serious eye damage or even blindness. The absence of pain or discomfort while looking at an eclipse does not mean damage to the eyes will not occur. Permanent damage to the retina can be caused without pain, and the visual symptoms can be delayed for several hours.
To view the eclipse safely means watching it on a TV or live stream, wearing special eye protection (not sunglasses), or looking at it indirectly.
Viewing the partial eclipse
The safest way to view the event is on the television or via live stream on the internet. Observing the eclipse directly through a telescope, binoculars or camera is not safe under any circumstances (including whilst wearing solar glasses). Sunglasses and photographic film are also inadequate and should NEVER be used to view the eclipse.
Only specially designed solar filters that are identified as suitable for direct viewing of the sun – they should conform with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard – can be used to view the eclipse directly. Alternatively, a welder’s glass rated at No.14 or higher would be suitable.
Always check that any solar viewing glasses are intact and do not have marks or tears.
Ensure any certified solar viewing glasses are securely fitted on your face before turning to view the eclipse.
Protecting your child’s eyes
It is dangerous to look at the sun at any time, and children may be tempted to sneak a peek during the eclipse. Children should be supervised carefully if they view the partial eclipse and they should be made aware of the dangers.
It is worth knowing that adult-sized special filter spectacles do not fit a child’s face and direct rays from the sun could easily damage the child’s eyes.
How to make a pinhole camera
An alternative and safe way to view the sun's disc is by indirect projection using a 'pinhole camera'. A perfectly adequate version can be made out of two thin, but stiff, pieces of white cardboard.
Punch a small, clean pinhole in one piece of cardboard. Do not make the pinhole too big or you will only have a shaft of sunlight rather than an image of the crescent sun. Stand with your back to the sun, holding up the piece of cardboard with the hole in it. Hold the other piece of cardboard as a 'screen' in your other hand and move it until an inverted image of the sun appears on it. To make the image sharper, move the screen closer to the pinhole.
Remember, do not look directly at the sun through the pinhole.
Published : 28 March 2025
