If you are planning to view a solar eclipse, here are our tips and tricks for planning your experience! Some of these planning steps are mandatory, others are simply recommended, while other activities are optional. Everyone is going to have their own gear and own plan, but these plans will all contain the same aspects.

The mandatory steps are steps that required, regardless of what form, as without these plans, something will go wrong. Recommended steps are steps that have served us well, and optional steps are steps that would be helpful, but is something that one could live without for the planning process.

We will explain the different planning recommendations, why we recommend each step, and show how this has worked for us from experience.

Mandatory

Eye Protection — The first step in any plan should and MUST be eye protection. Regardless of directly or indirectly viewing is being done, always use eye protection as solar eclipses can damage the eyes when the sun is not fully covered by the moon. There are a few steps that one can use that will always provide a great start:

1. Do not use homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark sunglasses.
2. Use special-purpose solar filters, such as eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers, to view the eclipse. Read and follow filter instructions and supervise children.
3. Buy Eye Protection From A Reputable Source — Make sure the solar viewer or glasses include the manufacturer’s name and address.
4. Do not use solar glasses that are older than three years or have scratched lenses.

If there will be an eclipse in your area, speak to an amateur astronomy club or science center as they will either directly sell eye protection or provide specific places to buy the filters. For a more full explanation of these steps, other useful tips, and more, check out this article.

Protect Your Gear

There are many ways to photograph and view an eclipse, as some use telescopes, while others use cameras. Regardless of what is used, it is crucial to buy the proper gear and buy it early! This includes identifying which gear to buy, where to buy it, and have it shipped before the event. To determine the proper gear, one should either talk to a local amateur astronomy club, talk to someone knowledgeable, or talk to the vendor. other than not being able to receive the item in time for the event, the worst thing that can happen is that either the gear purchased doesn’t fit properly or it doesn’t provide the proper protection. This is devastating if one will be using this for their primary viewing of the eclipse or imaging. Regardless if you practice, having gear protected is equally as important as protecting your eyes.

Know How To Use Eye Relief

Knowing when and how to use the eye relief will help the eyes and gear maintain their quality and not have health or quality issues. Please test out wearing eye relief accordingly so you know how to wear them accordingly.

Recommended

Know Where The Sun Will Be In The Sky

Knowing where the sun will be in the sky will help determine viewing areas, as well as logistics. This is important as knowing that the eclipse is visible on a certain horizon will narrow down where one can camp, and therefore, make logistics and viewing more challenging.

The best way to figure out where the sun will be in the sky would be to use a program such as Stellarium, and input the date, time, and location of the eclipse to figure out where in the sky the eclipse will occur. Once you know the Alt-Az coordinates of where in the sky it will occur and where in the sky the eclipse will be, one can then figure out which places have a clear view of that area of the sky. This is recommend as the worst thing one can do is get setup, and then find out that your view off the sky is not where the eclipse will occur.

Check Logistics

Make sure that you understand where you’re staying in relation to the location in which you are observing from. Include traffic, get to the location early, plan ahead, and get camping/lodging early. This includes food and other things. Doing a good job with logistics will help make sure that you will be able to enjoy the eclipse and not have to worry about issues regarding food or such. The only worry would be traffic

Optional

Practice With Gear

To get the best shots, make sure to practice with your gear! Make sure that you understand how to get setup and use the new gear before. If this is the first time using the gear, then make sure to practice and do research to be able to use the gear appropriately since there will only a few minutes during totality.