21 votes

Solar viewer for the upcoming eclipse

7 comments

  1. [5]
    first-must-burn
    Link
    I designed 3d printable parts for a solar viewer based on a design by T. R. Richardson at College of Charleston. Rather than an eyepiece like a telescope, it projects an image of the sun onto a...

    I designed 3d printable parts for a solar viewer based on a design by T. R. Richardson at College of Charleston. Rather than an eyepiece like a telescope, it projects an image of the sun onto a screen so it can be safely viewed. If you already have (or can borrow) a tripod the cost of the rest of the materials is around $50.

    I was able to test an earlier prototype to validate that it works. Frustratingly, since I finished it, we have had nothing but cloudy days, so I don't have any pictures of the image it creates.

    I'm about 2 hours outside the totality of the upcoming eclipse, so I'll be traveling to see it. I'm pretty excited. I am also planning to try some of the simpler experiments/demonstrations from this Smarter Every Day video.

    8 votes
    1. [4]
      SirNut
      Link Parent
      This is super cool! I’ve been looking for an excuse to warm my Ender 3v2 up lately haha

      This is super cool!

      I’ve been looking for an excuse to warm my Ender 3v2 up lately haha

      3 votes
      1. [3]
        first-must-burn
        Link Parent
        Great! I tried to write detailed instructions, but if you end up doing it and have any questions, please let me know. I do a lot of 3D print design but am only the very most amateur of...

        Great! I tried to write detailed instructions, but if you end up doing it and have any questions, please let me know. I do a lot of 3D print design but am only the very most amateur of astronomers, so I might not have answers on that side.

        1 vote
        1. [2]
          SirNut
          Link Parent
          The instructions are great! I love coming across prints where the author was clearly this thorough. When I print it, I'll be sure to upload a make :)

          The instructions are great! I love coming across prints where the author was clearly this thorough. When I print it, I'll be sure to upload a make :)

          2 votes
  2. [2]
    lackofaname
    Link
    I'm so excited to experience a total eclipse, especially the coldness and darkness so it shouldn'treally matter if it ends up being cloudy where I am. I have a memory from my childhood of an...

    I'm so excited to experience a total eclipse, especially the coldness and darkness so it shouldn'treally matter if it ends up being cloudy where I am.

    I have a memory from my childhood of an annular eclipse, and remember watching the projection on a contraption very similar to what you've made.

    During the last partial eclipse I saw, I made a pinhole projector out of a long pop box. It worked really well and I'm planning to do the same if the forecast is clear.

    2 votes
    1. first-must-burn
      Link Parent
      I tend to go overboard with things anyway, but I have been designing and printing custom telescope components for a friend's Dad for about the last year and a half using the Hadley framework....

      I tend to go overboard with things anyway, but I have been designing and printing custom telescope components for a friend's Dad for about the last year and a half using the Hadley framework. First we did the vanilla telescope, then we designed a bunch of custom adapters for equipment he already had, then we did a whole refractor based design.

      So after all that, I kind of had the bug to build something for myself. Realistically, I'm not going to take up night time astronomy, so the solar viewer seemed like a great opportunity to scratch the itch. But a pinhole viewer would definitely have been an easier route.

      2 votes