Photos: How Solarscope 'sees' the sun

Developed by Light Tec Optical Instruments of Hyeres, France, the Solarscope is designed to allow safe viewing of sun spots and solar eclipses. The $89 "education version," shown here, has a screen big enough for several people to see at once. A smaller version of the same device costs $59. Both are constructed of cardboard. A more rugged, wooden version that can be left outdoors permanently is $359.

When the orange tube on the Solarscope is aligned with the sun, sunlight filters through the tube and is then reflected off a lens onto the interior of the device's cardboard frame.

Dark imperfections in the reflected sunlight are sunspots--cooler regions on the sun's surface caused by magnetic disturbances.