How to make a pinhole viewer with a cardboard tube

A 48-inch cardboard tube, some tin foil and a pin is all you need to make a solar viewer

Solar eclipses take time. Do you want to look at the Moon slowly cross the Sun, then move away, for almost three hours, all the while wearing solar eclipse glasses? Didn’t think so.

So why not build a pinhole viewer, and make it a more social experience that’s less straining on the eyes? All you need is:

Cardboard mailing tube. The longer the better

Tin foil

A pin

A craft knife

How to make it:

1 – Cut a 2″x2″ square viewing hole in one end of the tube, about 2″ from the end.

2 – Cover the other end with tin foil & prick it with a pin. Keep the hole really small.

3 – With your back to the Sun, point the viewer end of the tube towards the floor, and the other end towards the Sun.

4 – Move the tube subtly until a projection of the crescent Sun appears on the bottom of the tube end.

5 – Share your view with others.