NASA has warned eclipse watchers that pointing a phone camera at the sun could result in damage to the lens.
As today's total solar eclipse is due to cross the U.S. this afternoon, millions of Americans are expected to descend on its path of totality for a glimpse of the rare astronomical phenomenon. The eclipse, the first of its kind in the U.S. since 2017, will cross the continent of North America, starting in Mexico before entering the U.S. and leaving via the northeast into Canada.
A slew of safety advice has been issued for eclipse goers, including using special viewing glasses and wrapping up warm for a sudden temperature drop. But one user of social platform X posed the question of whether the eclipse could actually damage devices like smartphones if the camera is being used to try and capture the moment.
"I cannot for the life of me find a definitive answer to whether or not pointing a smartphone at the solar eclipse will fry the sensor," Marques Brownlee asked on X. "Tempted to just take a phone I don't need and point it at the sun for 5 minutes to find out the real answer myself. In the name of science."
He was met with a direct response from NASA itself, which replied: "The answer is yes, the phone sensor could be damaged just like any other image sensor if it's pointed directly at the Sun. This is especially true if you're using any sort of magnifying lens attachment on the phone. You would need to utilize the proper filters just like on any other camera.
"The best practice would be to hold a pair of eclipse glasses in front of your phone's lenses when photographing the Sun at any point other than totality."
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The solar eclipse is also expected to impact phone service this afternoon because of the sheer number of people expected to be using their device in certain areas.
Both T-Mobile and Verizon have said they do not expect cell service to be badly impacted on Monday because of network improvements made in recent years. However, experts have warned that people in certain areas may experience some issues with internet and signal.
"A typical overload situation, such as some experience at a major football game, major sporting event or pop concert, is likely to occur in many places where the network is not provisioned for such an unusually large crowd," Theodore Rappaport, director of NYU Wireless, told Time magazine.
"Imagine a rural cellular system which is usually designed for 1,000 customers. Now, if 10,000 customers show up in the particular rural location, it is likely the much greater customer base will have difficulty accessing bandwidth, and be blocked temporarily until the crowd dissipates," he said.
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If there is any cell disruption, it will most likely be in the path of totality, which will cross the following 13 states, in this order, this afternoon:
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Missouri
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
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Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. Her focus is reporting on issues across the U.S., including ... Read more
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