5 ms·

> Watching the sun get eaten by a black void activates something deep inside the animal brain. I was planning to have my 5 year old son see it. But now I wonde

> Watching the sun get eaten by a black void activates something deep inside the animal brain. I was planning to have my 5 year old son see it. But now I wonder whether it will have any traumatic effect on him.

cydonian_monk 9y ago
I was five when I saw my first; only thing traumatic about it was the smell inside the welder's helmet we were passing around to watch it.
- dotancohen 9y ago
  Welders helmets are _not_ effective enough to make viewing the sun safe. Don't do that.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    Welder here. A welding helmet with a Shade 14 lens should be okay. A lower shade, say Shade 11 or higher, plus dark safety glasses should be okay for short periods of viewing the sun while it is at least partially eclipsed. 1. https://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infographic.html https://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infogr...
mnm1 9y ago
You would seriously let your son miss this because of some hypothetical traumatic event that might happen? I feel really bad for him if that's the case.
- bigiain 9y ago
  I don't think you worded this very well (which is probably why you're getting down votes), but I agree with your sentiment. This is 100% not something you should shield children from in my opinion - it's a very rare opportunity to see something quite magical - even when you know exactly what's going on.
throwanem 9y ago
Sounds like the kind of thing my father would've said. He was a great one for inflicting trauma as a result of ill-thought-through attempts to prevent it. I really can't recommend him as a role model in that regard or many others. In any case, I saw my first near-total solar eclipse at about your son's age. I don't recall as it did me any harm - indeed, I thought it was brilliant. The only real cause for trepidation would be looking at it with bare eyes, but there exist any number of expedients there.
Grangar 9y ago
It was my 6th birthday when I saw it. I still vividly remember it, in a good way.

cydonian_monk 9y ago

I was five when I saw my first; only thing traumatic about it was the smell inside the welder's helmet we were passing around to watch it.

dotancohen 9y ago
Welders helmets are _not_ effective enough to make viewing the sun safe. Don't do that.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  Welder here. A welding helmet with a Shade 14 lens should be okay. A lower shade, say Shade 11 or higher, plus dark safety glasses should be okay for short periods of viewing the sun while it is at least partially eclipsed. 1. https://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infographic.html https://www.space.com/15614-sun-observing-safety-tips-infogr...

mnm1 9y ago

You would seriously let your son miss this because of some hypothetical traumatic event that might happen? I feel really bad for him if that's the case.

bigiain 9y ago
I don't think you worded this very well (which is probably why you're getting down votes), but I agree with your sentiment. This is 100% not something you should shield children from in my opinion - it's a very rare opportunity to see something quite magical - even when you know exactly what's going on.

throwanem 9y ago

Sounds like the kind of thing my father would've said. He was a great one for inflicting trauma as a result of ill-thought-through attempts to prevent it. I really can't recommend him as a role model in that regard or many others. In any case, I saw my first near-total solar eclipse at about your son's age. I don't recall as it did me any harm - indeed, I thought it was brilliant. The only real cause for trepidation would be looking at it with bare eyes, but there exist any number of expedients there.

Grangar 9y ago

It was my 6th birthday when I saw it. I still vividly remember it, in a good way.