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| PHOTO 1 | PHOTO 2 | PHOTO 3 | PHOTO 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certified eclipse glasses—the essential item to buy before everyone else remembers. | The scientific masterpiece formerly known as a shoebox. | Check the certification, condition and source before trusting any pair of glasses. | A simple box turns sunlight into a safe projected image of the eclipsed Sun. |
A practical eclipse kit for France: safe glasses, a shoebox projector, solar filters, phone photos and a white sheet.
Apparently, We Are Solar Astronomers Now
The solar eclipse of 12 August 2026 is approaching, which means it is time to gather the highly specialised instruments required for serious astronomical research:
A shoebox.
A bedsheet.
A roll of aluminium foil.
And a pair of cardboard glasses purchased from a pharmacy.
NASA may have laboratories, satellites and people who understand phrases like coronal mass ejection. I have a recently emptied shoe box and misplaced confidence.
This is not my first attempt at reinventing solar astronomy.
During a Grand Canyon trip in 2023 with my sister and her wife, we made our own pinhole camera to watch the eclipse. There we were, surrounded by one of the most extraordinary landscapes on Earth, concentrating intensely on a tiny crescent of light projected inside a cardboard box.
It felt both ridiculous and magical.
We were not merely tourists carrying snacks and sunscreen. We were experimental physicists rediscovering the camera obscura, although I suspect actual experimental physicists cut their holes more neatly.
For the August eclipse, I am assembling a proper viewing kit ahead of time. The most important lesson is simple: eclipse preparation is not complicated, but it must be done safely.
First Stop: The Pharmacy for Eclipse Glasses
My first piece of equipment will be a pair of proper eclipse glasses—or preferably several pairs, because the moment everyone remembers the eclipse is usually the moment the shelves become empty.
In France, the phrase to use is:
Avez-vous des lunettes pour observer l’éclipse solaire ?
Do you have glasses for observing the solar eclipse?
A shorter version works too:
Vous avez des lunettes d’éclipse ?
Do you have eclipse glasses?
I plan to begin at the pharmacie, although opticians, astronomy shops and some cultural or scientific organisations may also stock them. Availability will vary, so this is not a purchase to leave until lunchtime on 12 August.
The glasses should come from a reputable seller and conform to the ISO 12312-2 standard for direct solar viewing. Ordinary sunglasses are not sufficient, no matter how dark, expensive or glamorous they may be. Looking like Catherine Deneuve does not make anyone’s retinas eclipse-proof. (NASA Science)
Check the glasses before eclipse day
Before using them:
Look for damage, scratches, punctures or loose filter material.
Read the printed instructions.
Confirm that the seller and manufacturer are trustworthy.
Put the glasses on before looking toward the Sun.
Turn away from the Sun before removing them.
Supervise children closely.
The American Astronomical Society warns that an ISO statement printed on the glasses is not, by itself, absolute proof that the product is legitimate. Counterfeit markings exist, which is another reason to buy through a pharmacy, optician or recognised supplier rather than a mysterious marketplace seller offering “twelve premium eclipse spectacles plus free vegetable peeler.” (Solar Eclipse Across America)
For anyone watching a partial eclipse, the glasses stay on whenever looking directly at the Sun. There is no safe glasses-off moment during a partial eclipse.
The Observatoire de Paris ÉclipSEOP application provides the type of eclipse, local phases, timing and degree of obscuration for a chosen location. Its times are shown in UTC; in metropolitan France during August, two hours must be added for local summer time. (Paris Astronomy Observatory)
The Grand Canyon Shoebox Observatory Returns
Eclipse glasses let one person look directly at the Sun safely. A pinhole projector lets everyone gather around and watch an indirect image.
It is also much more entertaining because it looks as though a primary-school science project has unexpectedly become the centre of a social occasion.
Equipment for a shoebox pinhole projector
I will need:
One shoebox or longer cardboard box
A piece of white paper
Aluminium foil
Tape
A pin or needle
Scissors or a craft knife
A responsible adult if children are helping with the cutting
At least one person willing to insist that the tiny projected crescent is “absolutely incredible”
How to make it
Tape white paper inside one end of the box.
This becomes the projection screen.Cut two small openings at the opposite end.
One opening is for the pinhole. The other is the viewing opening.Cover the pinhole opening with aluminium foil.
Tape it securely so light cannot enter around its edges.Make one small, clean hole in the foil with a pin.
Stand with the Sun behind the box.
Aim the foil end toward the Sun.
Sunlight passes through the pinhole and projects an image onto the white paper.Look through the separate viewing opening at the paper screen.
The crucial rule is that the pinhole is a projector, not a tiny telescope. Nobody should look through the pinhole toward the Sun.
A longer box produces a larger solar image, so a cereal box, mailing tube or improvised cardboard construction may outperform a short shoebox. This feels unfair to the shoebox, which has already worked hard enough.
NASA specifically recommends indirect projection as a safe alternative when proper solar viewers are unavailable. (NASA Science)
The Bedsheet/Wall Method We Used in Los Angeles
Some of my favourite eclipse equipment is not pointed at the Sun at all.
In Los Angeles, we used a pale reflecting wall (or bedsheet) to make the strange eclipse shadows more visible. During the partial phases, the tiny spaces between overlapping leaves behave like hundreds of natural pinhole projectors.
Instead of ordinary round spots of sunlight, the sheet or wall becomes covered in miniature crescents.
It is wonderfully eerie.
One moment it is a bedsheet. The next, it is a solar observatory with a disturbingly high thread count.
How to set it up
A white sheet can be:
Spread beneath a leafy tree
Hung vertically where dappled sunlight will reach it
Positioned against a wall to improve contrast
Used as a background for photographing the crescent shadows
A pale pavement or white exterior wall may work just as well.
No suitable tree? A kitchen colander, perforated spoon, straw hat or piece of cardboard punched with small holes can create a whole collection of projected Suns. Hold the object in the sunlight and let its shadow fall onto the sheet.
This is indirect viewing. The sheet does not make it safe to look upward without eclipse glasses.
I would also avoid attempting to bounce direct sunlight onto a wall with an ordinary mirror. A controlled projection arrangement belongs in experienced hands; a bedsheet beneath a tree is safer, simpler and less likely to redirect the Sun into someone’s face.
The American Astronomical Society recommends leafy trees, crossed fingers, colanders and other perforated objects as easy pinhole projectors. (Solar Eclipse Across America)
Photographing the Eclipse Without Sacrificing the Phone
Our neighbour Connie managed to take eclipse photographs by placing solar-viewing material over her phone camera.
It worked, and the result was impressive enough to send everyone outside clutching phones and cardboard glasses.
For 2026, however, I am adding one important improvement: the filter should be securely attached and designed or confirmed as suitable for the camera being used.
A loose pair of eclipse glasses held approximately somewhere near a phone lens leaves too much room for slipping, uncovered lenses and frantic repositioning while facing the Sun.
For a phone
My basic phone kit will include:
A reputable solar filter or phone solar-filter holder
A small tripod or stable support
A remote shutter button or timer
A fully charged battery
Space available for photographs and video
Eclipse glasses for my own eyes
Modern phones may switch automatically between several rear cameras. A filter must cover every lens that could become active, not merely the lens that appeared to be in use when the camera app first opened.
I will also practise before eclipse day. That is when I want to discover which lens activates at different zoom levels—not while shouting, “Why has the Sun disappeared?” at a phone that has switched to its unfiltered telephoto camera.
For a DSLR, mirrorless camera or telephoto lens
A proper solar filter must be fixed securely over the front, Sun-facing end of the lens. Ordinary neutral-density filters, polarising filters and stacked photographic filters are not substitutes for a purpose-made solar filter.
The Sun can damage both eyes and camera equipment. During the partial phases, NASA recommends a special solar filter for the camera as well as eclipse glasses for the photographer. A tripod and delayed shutter release can reduce blur, while practising exposure and focus beforehand prevents eclipse day from becoming an expensive argument with a menu screen. (NASA)
Anyone using an optical viewfinder should be especially cautious: never look through an unfiltered camera lens at the Sun.
NASA’s most appealing photography advice is not technical at all. Photograph the people, the changing light, the landscape and the tiny crescent shadows. A phone may not produce a magazine-cover close-up of the Sun, but it can capture everyone standing under a tree making delighted noises at a bedsheet. (NASA)
My Practical Eclipse Packing List
Essential safety equipment
Certified eclipse glasses
Spare glasses for guests
Protective envelope or case for the glasses
Proper camera or phone solar filter
Hat, water and sunscreen
A reminder that clouds do not make direct solar viewing safe
Homemade astronomy department
Shoebox or long cardboard box
White paper
Aluminium foil
Tape
Pin
Scissors
Colander or perforated kitchen utensil
White bedsheet
Photography extras
Phone or camera
Tripod
Remote shutter or timer
Power bank
Lens cloth
Plenty of storage space
A normal wide-angle photograph of the people and landscape
Useful French Eclipse Vocabulary
une éclipse solaire — a solar eclipse
des lunettes d’éclipse — eclipse glasses
un filtre solaire — a solar filter
une boîte à chaussures — a shoebox
un sténopé — a pinhole camera or pinhole opening
projeter l’image du Soleil — to project the image of the Sun
une feuille d’aluminium — a sheet of aluminium foil
un drap blanc — a white bedsheet
l’ombre — the shadow
un croissant de Soleil — a crescent of Sun
l’obscuration — the percentage of the Sun’s area covered
la phase partielle — the partial phase
la totalité — totality
A French sentence I am now prepared to say with scientific authority:
On ne regarde jamais directement le Soleil sans protection adaptée.
We never look directly at the Sun without suitable protection.
French learner tips
A1: Practise asking, Vous avez des lunettes d’éclipse ?
A2: Add the safety question, Elles sont conformes à la norme ISO 12312-2 ?
B1: Explain the projector: La lumière passe par un petit trou et l’image du Soleil apparaît sur le papier.
B2: Describe what is happening: À mesure que la Lune passe devant le Soleil, les ombres deviennent de petits croissants.
Advanced: Ask about local conditions: Quel sera le degré d’obscuration maximal depuis Aix-en-Provence ?
The Part I Nearly Forgot to Pack
I began this list thinking mainly about equipment: glasses, filters, foil, tape, charged batteries and the most scientifically promising shoebox in Provence.
But what I remember from the Grand Canyon is not the quality of the cardboard engineering.
I remember the three of us bending over that little projected image. I remember adjusting the box by fractions of an inch, watching the crescent sharpen and feeling absurdly proud when it appeared.
The revelation was not that we had reproduced a scientific principle known for centuries.
It was that something happening nearly 150 million kilometres away could suddenly feel small enough to hold inside a box—and large enough to stop everyone around it.
That is what the bedsheet, the pharmacy glasses and Connie’s phone photograph are really for. They give us different ways to notice the same extraordinary change in the light, preferably without injuring ourselves or melting a camera sensor.
Sources for Further Information
American Astronomical Society: How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely
American Astronomical Society: ISO 12312-2 Solar Viewer Standard
Your Turn
Have you ever made a pinhole projector, photographed an eclipse through a solar filter or watched hundreds of crescent Suns appear beneath a tree? Share the equipment that worked—and any homemade astronomy experiment that became more memorable than the photograph.
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