CMP > Exhibits > On-line Catalog > S > Sun Image
 
Sun Image

A pinhole aperture place in a beam of sunlight casts an image of the sun onto a screen, revealing solar features including sunspots. A prism is placed in the beam of sunlight gathered by a heliostat to redirect a small portion of the light. One face of the prism is masked except for a hole 1/8” in diameter. Light passing through the hole is reflected at 90 degrees by total internal reflection, creating an image of the sun about 8 inches in diameter with a resolution roughly equal to the diameter of the the pinhole.

exhibit specs
20"w X 72"h X 20"d
70 lbs.
  

 
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