Eyesight is far more important than sunspots. Don't take risks with your eyes. It really isn't worth it. If you're blind, and another, bigger, sunspot comes along later, you'll be sure to miss out.<br /><br />I once heard a suggestion from a photographer - while he was teaching a photography class - that people take sunset photos with the sun actually in the frame. Bad idea. Very very bad idea. Wait until the sun goes down, folks!<br /><br />Ever cook an ant with a magnifying glass? If you look through your telescope, camera, or binoculars directly at the sun, that's what you'll be doing to your eyes. You can even cook your big expensive telescope if you point at the sun.<br /><br />Once you learn to take all those warnings very very very seriously, you can begin to investigate the SAFE ways for observing the sun.<br /><br />** The safest, highest-resolution way to observe the sun is over the web. **<br /><br />If you use solar filters, know their limitations.<br /><br />If you are using a solar filter in combination with any kind of magnifying optics, do this:<br />1) Be sure the solar filter completely covers the objective, and is absolutely secure, so it won't fall off.<br /><br />2) Prior to attaching any solar filter, examine the entire filter for any pinholes that could let light through. Blot out any pinholes you find with a black sharpie marker.<br /><br />3) Don't take my word for it. Study for yourself.<br /><br />Ok, now that I've said all that, I'd like to share my favorite portable solar observatory. I placed a solar filter on a pair of image-stabilized 15x45 Canon binoculars. With this setup, I can look see sunspots directly through handheld binoculars.<br /><br />THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! ONLY A MAD SCIENTIST WOULD DO SUCH A CRAZY THING! Right, Igor? Yesss, bosss.<br /><br />One thing I learned from this is that if you're looking at the sun through solar-filtered binoculars, that it is very important to CLOSE YOUR EYES BEFORE TAKING T