From today's eclipse, here's my pinhole viewer:
High-precision astronomical instrumentation constructed in 0.8 seconds using a ballpoint pen.
I put three holes in it to try: a big 3/8" one inside the circle logo on the box, a little guy about 1/8" that you can see on the left, and a 1/4" hole that's cut off toward the top of the picture. The largest hole worked OK but didn't give enough resolution, the smallest hole didn't project enough light to see, but the middle one gave just enough light which means that it also had the best practical resolution. The "projection screen" on the ground is just a piece of 8-1/2x11 bond paper. Here's one of the better pictures, after a little enlargement and contrast enhancement:
Yay, my eclipse picture!
OK, there are better pictures of the eclipse out there (here're NASA's best), but that's beside the point. It's just fun to take a DIY break and do some extremely minor science.
By the way, xkcd has been doing an eclipse series over the past week. In case you missed it:
Eclipse Searches
Eclipse Science
Earth Orbital Diagram
Eclipse Birds
ps Wednesday: Eclipse Review
Don't forget to hover your mouse over the cartoons to get the bonus rimshot lines.
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