Solar Eclipse Safety And Imaging Guide

A beginner-friendly guide for the 12 August 2026 eclipse, with UK viewing notes, safe filter advice, and five simple household experiments.

Download the PDF Back to resources

Solar eclipse safety essentials

The upcoming eclipse

The next major solar eclipse for Europe is the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026. NASA path tables place greatest eclipse at 17:45:53.8 UTC, with the path of totality crossing Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain before sunset.

For many people in the UK this will be a late-day partial eclipse. A clear western horizon matters because the Sun will be low, so local timing and skyline obstructions will make a real difference.

Fast checklist

  • Use certified eclipse glasses or handheld viewers that conform to ISO 12312-2.
  • Use front-mounted solar filters for cameras, binoculars, and telescopes.
  • Keep filters on for every partial phase.
  • Use a simple imaging plan you have practiced in advance.
  • Pick one or two safe household experiments for children or first-time observers.

Non-negotiable eye safety

  • Ordinary sunglasses are not safe for looking at the Sun.
  • Inspect eclipse glasses before use and discard damaged viewers.
  • Put eclipse glasses on before looking up and look away before removing them.
  • If you wear prescription glasses, keep them on and place eclipse glasses over them.
  • The only unaided-eye exception is totality, and only inside the path of totality when the Sun's bright face is completely covered.

When filters stay on

  • Partial eclipse: filters on the whole time.
  • Annular eclipse: filters on the whole time.
  • Total eclipse outside the path of totality: filters on the whole time.
  • Total eclipse inside the path of totality: glasses off only for the brief total phase.

For cameras and telescopes, only remove the solar filter during totality if you are truly inside the totality track and you have rehearsed that step.

Safe solar filters for optics

For camera lenses, binoculars, spotting scopes, and telescopes, the solar filter must be attached securely over the front opening so sunlight is reduced before it enters the optics.

  • Use front-mounted full-aperture filters from a reputable astronomy supplier.
  • Do not use rear-mounted eyepiece solar filters.
  • Cover or filter the finder scope too, or do not use it during solar work.
  • Never use eclipse glasses as a substitute for a proper telescope or camera filter.

Phones and simple imaging

A phone camera also needs a proper solar filter during the partial phases. The screen is not a protective filter, and digital zoom does not make an unfiltered image safe.

  • Use a purpose-made smartphone solar filter if possible.
  • Do not place a phone behind unfiltered binoculars or an unfiltered telescope.
  • Use the rear camera, lock focus and exposure if available, and keep sessions short to reduce heating.
  • Inside totality, remove the phone filter only during totality if you want corona or landscape shots.

Imaging totality without missing it

Totality is much dimmer than the filtered partial phases, so it needs a different plan. The safest beginner approach is to keep it simple and avoid overcomplicated capture routines.

  • Practice fitting and removing the filter before eclipse day.
  • Use a tripod if possible.
  • Bracket exposures during totality if your camera allows it.
  • Take a few frames, then stop and look up.

Five simple household experiments

  1. Colander projection: let sunlight pass through a kitchen colander or slotted spoon onto paper or paving and watch each bright spot turn into a small crescent during the partial phases.
  2. Cereal-box pinhole projector: use a cereal box, foil, white paper, and tape to build a simple projection viewer and compare the crescent every 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Leaf-shadow test: stand under a tree and watch the little gaps between leaves project many tiny crescent Suns onto the ground.
  4. Temperature and light log: use a notebook, kitchen timer, and household thermometer or phone weather readout to record changes in brightness, temperature, wind, and bird activity.
  5. Shadow-shape challenge: put jar lids, cups, or coins on white card and trace how their shadows sharpen and change as the eclipse progresses.

Red flags

  • Marketplace glasses with vague safety claims and no traceable manufacturer.
  • Loose filters that can slide off the front of the optics.
  • Advice that recommends sunglasses, smoked glass, CDs, exposed film, or stacked neutral-density filters.
  • Any rear-mounted eyepiece solar filter.