If you’re thinking about trying to capture a quick smartphone picture of the solar eclipse on Monday, you might want to reconsider. While most people know they shouldn’t look directly at the eclipse, as it turns out, our cell phone cameras shouldn’t be looking directly at it either.
In a post on X, NASA flagged that “the phone sensor could be damaged just like any other image sensor if it’s pointed directly at the sun.” In other words, you could destroy your phone’s photo sensor while trying to snap that shot.
NASA adds that the danger to your phone’s sensor is especially worth noting if you’re using any sort of magnifying lens attachment. If you are, NASA says “you would need to utilize the proper filters just like on any other camera.”
All that said, taking a pic with your smartphone isn’t entirely out of the question. NASA says “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.”
NASA posted a video as well as a written guide to snapping eclipse photos on its website. We also have a guide to photographing the big event.
In addition to filtering the image through some eclipse glasses, NASA recommends using a tripod to stabilize your camera and using a delayed shutter release time so you can snap those shots without touching your camera.
NASA also recommends looking around you, not just at the actual eclipse.
“As the Moon slips in front of the Sun, the landscape will be bathed in eerie lighting and shadows. As light filters through the overlapping leaves of trees, it creates natural pinholes that project miniature eclipse replicas on the ground," its photo guide says. "Anywhere you can point your camera can yield exceptional imagery, so be sure to compose some wide-angle photos that can capture your eclipse experience.”
And like most things, NASA recommends you practice, especially using your camera’s manual controls, before eclipse time so you’re ready to capture that perfect pic when the time comes.