Watching the Eclipse Through a Pinhole in Sacramento

Pinhole reflection of the eclipse August 21, 2017 in Sacramento.

If you were trying to watch the eclipse through a pinhole in Sacramento, you might have been disappointed. I talked with a few of my friends in the afternoon who said they had tried watching the eclipse through a pinhole and it didn’t work. Well, the reason it didn’t work is because they didn’t do the right steps. Hey, I couldn’t figure it out, either, you know. I had to ask my husband specifically how it works because everything I had read was so danged vague. Even the newspaper said things like put a pinhole in a piece of paper and look at the eclipse on the ground. Which didn’t work.

There are reasons that didn’t work. For starters, did you use a pinhole, like a needle? Or did you do what I tried? Because you know, they did not define pinhole. A pinhole could be a jab with a pair of scissors or a knife, which is what I thought. Or maybe I was gonna use a pen and poke a hole. The trick is to use a needle. The pinhole needs to be very small.

The second thing to when watching the eclipse through a pinhole is to use a sturdy piece of material. A paper is too flimsy, especially if there is any kind of breeze. I used a cardboard bowl. No way is that thing gonna fly outta my hands or bend over or tear. Those bowls are pretty sturdy, I think the ones we have in our pantry are sturdy enough to hold steaming chili. I tried using the bowl to force the reflection toward the ground, but I was too far away.

The third trick when watching the eclipse through a pinhole is to use a flat surface behind the bowl to catch the reflection of the eclipse. I used a cardboard plate, and propped it up on the umbrella stand for our patio table. Then I could hold the bowl at a 45-degree angle to catch the sun, reflect it on the plate and use my other hand to shoot a photo with my iPhone.

I tried to shoot a photo of the eclipse by angling my iPhone at the sun behind my back, but it came out too bright. Although, if you look closely at the photo below, you can see the reflection from the eclipse is in the trees, near the bottom.

After the eclipse passed in Land Park, all of a sudden a strong breeze whipped up. It was super windy. Dogs started barking. And then everything went back to normal. It was quiet and sunny again. And you’re reminded of how we don’t control anything. How insignificant and small we really are. It’s humbling.

I still plan to be around when the next eclipse comes in 2024.

You can see the reflection of the eclipse at the bottom.