(top-posting, which the new inteface makes more understandable than any alternative)

Thanks for the information. When I observed the transit of Venus back in June, I used a really dark piece of glass from a welder's mask. Whatever the number was, it was dark enough that I could not see surrounding terrain.

On Monday, August 6, 2012 7:42:18 PM UTC-4, Joe from Kokomo wrote:
On 8/2/2012 3:43 PM, Beloved Leader wrote:
... The atmosphere was so humidity-laden that I could look at the sun
through the binoculars without any needing any glass from a welder's
mask. YMMV.

I hope you realize that amongst the rods and cones on your retina, there are NO pain receptors. It is really easy to damage your retina and not realize it....