Safe to watch eclipse through sunroof?

[Asimov4]

Random question but will it be safe to watch the October 14 annular eclipse through the R1S sunroof? We'll be driving to Eugene, OR and thought the R1S would be a cosy spot to enjoy the show.

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[jjswan33]

Absolutely not. You need very specific glasses or an obscuring device to avoid eye damage. The tint on the roof isn’t even close to enough.

Edit: Here is an article on the topic:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2024/apr-8-total/safety/

 

[Donald Stanfield]

It depends. How do you feel about Ray Charles?

 

[WSea]

Random question but will it be safe to watch the October 14 annular eclipse through the R1S sunroof? We'll be driving to Eugene, OR and thought the R1S would be a cosy spot to enjoy the show.

Also, the sun will be low at that time/duration

 

[COdogman]

You can just look at it outside. I’m sure it’s fine.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

You can just look at it outside. I’m sure it’s fine.

He doesn't have much up there to melt anyways so that's why he's safe.

 

[Asimov4]

Glad I asked and thanks for the pointers.
We'll bring our NASA approved eclipse glasses and a colander!

 

[Zoidz]

Random question but will it be safe to watch the October 14 annular eclipse through the R1S sunroof? We'll be driving to Eugene, OR and thought the R1S would be a cosy spot to enjoy the show.

Sure, and use a pair of binoculars for a closer view.

 

[jjswan33]

Sure, and use a pair of binoculars for a closer view.

Why not… Probably see some really cool solar ‘weather’

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...MIi9-60IHPgQMVmiutBh29aA8iEAQYAiABEgKpBvD_BwE

Telescope would be even better

 

[Craigins]

Also, the sun will be low at that time/duration

Good thing these vehicles spontaneously flip on their side, you'll get a better view through the roof.

 

[CharonPDX]

A way to tell if something is safe to look through at the sun:

Ask yourself "can I see anything through this glass when *NOT* staring directly at the sun?"

If yes: NO, THIS GLASS IS NOT SAFE TO LOOK AT THE SUN WITH.

If no: STILL ALMOST CERTAINLY NOT, BUT CHECK WITH THE MANUFACTURER TO BE SURE.

People used to suggest using welding goggles to view an eclipse. They may have enough dimming in visible light, but usually don't have sufficient protection from IR or UV. (Note: newer welding goggles DO filter out UV, but at the time that the recommendation to use welding goggles to view eclipses was common, they usually didn't.)

The sun is bright in visible light, but it's more damaging in UV, and some "very dark glass" may not block enough UV. And infrared can be damaging, too. And things can be *COMPLETELY* dark to visible light, yet completely transparent to IR. See the little black window of plastic on the front of your TV remote - to IR, it's like clear glass. To visible light, it's so dark it might as well be solid black.

 

[COdogman]

Sure, and use a pair of binoculars for a closer view.

When I was ordering myself some eclipse "glasses" the other day I saw these "eclipse safe binoculars" and I was tempted to buy a set.

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Ec...54961&sprefix=eclipse+bin,aps,151&sr=8-3&th=1

 

[Asimov4]

Turns out it was really cloudy in Eugene today so we saw nothing with the eclipse glasses but got a few glimpses of the ring of fire through the Rivian sunroof!

Here's a bad picture (can't see that the moon is in front of the sun because there was too much exposure) that shows the position of the sun around 9:18am and the heavy cloud cover:

 

[iansriv]

Yet another failure by Rivian. Why didn't they consider a solar eclipse and make the roof glass such that one could look at the eclipse? How long are we going to put up with these blatant failures?

NB: this is a joke.

 

[CharonPDX]

I got a good *photo* through the roof, and clouds. It made it “still too bright to look at,” but it made for a good photo!

Then arrived at the Madras RAN and got a few photos with my good camera.

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