Editing Safety Tips (section)

== Observational Safety ==
By /u/Orangelantern

When you think of a word to describe Astronomy, "Dangerous" doesn't normally come to mind. Its not.

There are however, dangerous things you can do ''while'' observing.

A telescope is a light amplifying device. Pointing it at a bright object such as the sun and looking through the eyepiece can severely damage your eye.

As /u/Orangelantern experienced, even having your telescope pointed '''NEAR''' the sun without a proper filter attached to the aperture can cause catastrophe.

Fortunately for /u/Orangelantern, he was not looking through the telescope when the sun '''burned through his eyepiece'''<blockquote>"It was really really clear outside today, so i decided to put my solar filter on my telescope and take a look at the Sun. I made the mistake of not putting the glass filter on before i aligned the scope near the sun. After about 3 or 4 seconds I smelled burning plastic. I made a joke to my Dad who was making pancakes about how he was burning the pan when i noticed it was actually my own fault."</blockquote>Imagine that being your eye. Solar observing is nothing to joke about. Before each observation you must first go over a mini checklist in your head.

* Is the filter properly attached to the telescope?
* Does it have any cracks or holes?
* Is the Glass/Mylar firmly attached to the inner perimeter of the holder?
* Is my Finderscope attached or filtered as well?
* Am I in an environment conducive to the possibility of the filter falling off? ( Sunday football game with rowdy drunk people about is not a very safe time to stare at an object capable of burning a hole through your skull)

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