Observe & capture
Ways to watch — and how to capture it
From nothing but a pair of certified glasses to a tracking telescope, here is how to get the most out of the eclipse — and one rule that never changes: outside totality, the Sun is always dangerous to look at unprotected.
The simplest setup: eyes and glasses
For most of Europe this is a partial eclipse, and certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses are all you need to watch the crescent Sun for the whole event. They cost little, pack flat, and are the one thing to buy in advance. Read the full safety guide before you rely on any filter.
No equipment? Project it
Projection is completely safe because you never look at the Sun — you look at its image:
- Pinhole: a small hole in card throws a crescent Sun onto a surface a metre or two behind.
- Colander or straw hat: dozens of crescents at once.
- Tree shade: nature’s pinhole camera — the ground fills with crescents.
Binoculars & telescopes
These gather far more light than the eye, so they need a purpose-made solar filter fitted over the front aperture — never over the eyepiece, where the focused heat would shatter it. With proper front filtration you can pick out sunspots on the Sun’s face during the partial phases. Never improvise a filter, and never point unfiltered optics anywhere near the Sun.
Smart telescopes
A smart telescope is the most hands-off way to see fine detail safely. Instruments such asUnistellar telescopes fitted with the Smart Solar Filter find and track the Sun automatically and show it on your phone or tablet, so there is no direct optical path to your eye at any point. You watch sunspots and the advancing Moon on a screen — and several people can share the same live view.See how it works.
Photographing a sunset eclipse
Because this eclipse happens with the Sun low in the west (very low over Spain), the most memorable images are often the wide ones — the eclipsed Sun small in a big, dusk-colored sky, over a recognisable landscape or horizon. A few practical notes:
- Smartphones: put a certified solar filter over the lens for the partial phases (and protect your own eyes). During totality only — inside the path — remove it and shoot the corona and the sunset glow together.
- Cameras with a zoom: use a proper solar filter for all partial phases; a tripod is essential at low light and long focal length.
- Scout your western horizon in advance — a low Sun means a building or hill can hide the whole thing.
- Don’t forget to look up. Totality lasts barely two minutes; frame one shot, then watch it with your own eyes.
Turn it into science
If you observe with a connected telescope, your images can contribute to real research on the Sun’s corona and atmosphere through the Unistellar Network and the SETI Institute.Read more about eclipses as science.