The Rest Is Science

S1E76 - The Science of Putting Sunglasses on The Sun

Published: August 9, 2026

Duration: 1:00:02

Why does the cartoon Sun always wear sunglasses? And how big would a real pair need to be?


Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens investigate space mirrors, Reflect Orbital and solar eclipses to find out.


Starting with a pencil held at arm’s length, they use the Sun’s angular diameter to calculate how big a pair of solar sunglasses would need to be for one eye, two eyes, everyone in London and eventually the entire planet.


Their hypothetical answer is a strange structure more than...