Don't look at the Sun!
Every time there is a solar eclipse you will find astronomers warning you to never look directly at the Sun. Even more importantly, you should not look at the Sun through a telescope unless you have a professional solar filter that covers the front of the telescope. Why?
The Sun is very bright and by focussing the light onto the back of your eye (the retina) with or without a telescope, you are putting a lot of energy (both optical light and infra-red) onto a tiny area. At some point in your life you may have tried to set paper on fire using a magnifying glass, so just think about that being done to the back of your eye. It isn't nice. Even more scarily is the fact that the retina of your eye does not have pain receptors, so you will not even feel the damage being done. It may not even become apparent until later.
A grape at the focus of a small telescope while looking at the Sun unprotected. CREDIT: Stuart/Megan
Not only do you blind yourself, but you may damage the optics of your telescope. So, remember folks, NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN. If you want to observe the Sun, check out the SOHO website or find someone with a solar telescope. You have been warned.
Comments: Don't look at the Sun!
"Not only do you blind yourself, but you may damage the optics of your telescope."
You're telling me, that eyepiece still smells of burnt sugar!
Seriously, the heat could destroy coatings on your eyepieces and cause lenses to crack. If you ever buy a telescope that comes with an eyepiece-mounted solar filter, throw it away as it could well destroy your vision if you use it. They may reduce the light in the optical part of the spectrum so that the Sun appears dark, but they generally still let through infra-red light which will cook your eyeball very quickly.
Posted by Megan on Friday 30th Sep 2005 (20:35 UTC)
Hey Stuart, you made the bad astronomy blog! There is a very lively discussion going on over there.
I will now use this article in my standard warnings when discussing solar observation.
I must admit that when I first started out, I used the eyepiece filter that came with my chinese refractor. After reading a few articles in astronomy magazines, I rapidly changed to eyepiece projection. WHich has the added advantage that many people can watch with you. It was a hit for the transit of Venus.
Posted by Ian Musgrave on Thursday 06th Oct 2005 (22:09 UTC)
I know! I wondered what was happening to my weblogs as the number of readers suddenly increased by a factor of about 150 since this morning. Everyone seems very shy though.
Posted by Stuart on Thursday 06th Oct 2005 (22:26 UTC)
I came over from Bad Astronomy. I'm very impressed by your experiment, but sorry about the eyepiece of your telescope. The price one must pay for scientific endeavour!
Posted by Beche-la-mer on Friday 07th Oct 2005 (03:56 UTC)
I guess you have never played with a magnifying glass and ants. *pop* *sizzle*.
Found by way of j-walkblog. I will be back. And I'm not shy.
Posted by Bret on Friday 07th Oct 2005 (16:14 UTC)
I also came over from Bad Astronomy. Pictures are worth a thousand words...so your video is at least a novella! That was wicked.
Posted by Ron on Friday 07th Oct 2005 (19:23 UTC)
Very interesting site. Increased traffic could also be FireFox's Stumble! Bar. That is how I found the site.
Posted by Jim Davis on Saturday 08th Oct 2005 (01:55 UTC)
I'm glad you all enjoyed the video clip. Thanks for saying hi.
Posted by Stuart on Monday 10th Oct 2005 (11:31 UTC)
That was a cool video! I have never looked directly at the sun with or without a telescope. And thanks to you i never will. I already have bad vison and i dont want it to be any worse!
thanks!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Alex V. on Friday 30th Dec 2005 (19:42 UTC)
cool video!! im never looking at sun now. thanks for warning me Stuart!!!!!!!! i dont want to hurt my eyes!!!
Posted by avery on Friday 30th Dec 2005 (19:48 UTC)
If you have never looked directly at the sun,you have obviously never driven down a road when the sun is low in the sky.You can't look away,or you could have an accident
The reason it is dangerous during an eclipse is because your eye responds to the average light level ,which is low,& opens its aperture wide.the very narrow but intense light from the small part of the sun which is visible can freely reach the eyes internals
Posted by Bryan Wheeler on Saturday 28th Jan 2006 (14:41 UTC)
so your saying by looking at the sun you can go blind for ever?
E-mail me back
Posted by Andrew on Wednesday 13th Sep 2006 (14:53 UTC)
Andrew, what I'm saying is that looking at the Sun directly is dangerous to your eyeballs. Looking at it though a pair of binoculars or a telescope is even more dangerous.
Posted by Stuart on Thursday 14th Sep 2006 (16:59 UTC)
how dangerous is it tho out of 1 out of 10
Posted by Andrew on Friday 15th Sep 2006 (23:13 UTC)
never ever ever! look directly at the sun and i tell you this from experience. i have looked directly at the sun and now my vision is distorted. i cant see numbers very well anymore and i will never be able to see a straight line again; it will always have a bulge in it. when i close my eyes i can actually see the hole that i burned into the retinas of my eyes by staring at the sun so never under any circumstance look directly into the sun.
Posted by Faith L. on Saturday 16th Sep 2006 (00:53 UTC)
my god and you where looking at the sun for 5 or 10 minits?
i am geting a telescope soon i hope so i am just trying to find out all i can about it
but wat if its not a sunny day?
Posted by Andrew on Sunday 17th Sep 2006 (13:56 UTC)
Andrew, I'll echo Faith's comments that you should do your best not to stare at the Sun. You should certainly not look at it through a telescope unless it is a proper solar telescope with good quality filters on the front to reduce the amount of light going into it. The reason it is dangerous is that the Sun is VERY bright and so much light falling on the back of your eye is very likely to damage the sensitive cells in it.
Generally, if you are getting a normal telescope you will not be looking at the sky during the day so it isn't too much of an issue. Of course there are some occassions when you would want to use a telescope during the day but I suspect those will be sunny days (you don't see much that is astronomical when it is cloudy!). If you do observe during the day, just make sure that you steer well clear of the Sun.
Posted by Stuart on Sunday 17th Sep 2006 (15:09 UTC)
no dont ever look directly at the sun, I did it when i was younger and i went deaf.
Posted by david on Wednesday 08th Nov 2006 (16:29 UTC)
im realy worried about myself. i have an observitory OCD which makes me want to look at things and igzamine them. im worried that i might be overpowered by the sensation and start looking at the sun directly, even using the special methods to protect your eyes wont work cos my complex mind will just say "but what would it look like directly?" i have poor vision now possibly from excessive use of the computer and dont wish to damage my eyes further, i may have climpsed the sun up to 20 times since i was born =O
Posted by jamie on Sunday 12th Nov 2006 (20:26 UTC)
Jamie, try not to worry too much. If you do happen to glance at the Sun with your own eyes you should look away again as quickly as you can and blink a few times. (If there are any optometrists out there reading this they may be able to add some better advice here).
Of course, a much bigger problem would be looking at the Sun with some kind of telescope/binoculars. The best thing to do in that case is never to put a telescope in a situation where you can accidentally look at the Sun through it.
Posted by Stuart on Sunday 12th Nov 2006 (23:26 UTC)
ok, i was also wondering if this only aplys to the sun? i have powerfull disco lights in my room as my regular lighting, and i wasnt sure if this could do any damage. any advice please? thanks for the tips stuart, i tend to find that glimpsing the sun is a common accident, aspecially when the sun is dim and i dont realys its there when looking up. usually when its bright my light sensetive eyes make it impossible to see properly so i couldnt look at the sun anyway :P
i also heard that sun glasses that dont have the national safety mark are actually even worse for the eyes because they make the pupils bigger to let in more light, but dont protect from UV rays courses more damage =\
Posted by jamie on Wednesday 15th Nov 2006 (19:16 UTC)
on a cloudy? hmmmm...well i'll tell you that my uncle and i watched a partial eclipse of the sun on dec 25, 2000 (i think it was 2000) and we saw the whole thing through the clouds perfectly and even took some excellent pictures all through the clouds. on that day the clouds were just thick enough so that we could see the eclipse without the glare and just thin enough so the we could see every detail of the eclipse. it was awesome! however if you were to look at the sun through a telescope you would definitely do terrible damage to your eyes because its heat and light are magnified many times so whatever you do please please please dont use a telescope to look at the sun.
Posted by Faith L. on Friday 17th Nov 2006 (22:05 UTC)
lol that should be "on a cloudy day?"
Posted by Faith L. on Friday 17th Nov 2006 (22:07 UTC)
is it possible to look directly at the sun??? for more than 5 seconds???
Posted by benn9 on Sunday 26th Nov 2006 (23:57 UTC)
Benn9, it is possible but you will most likely do serious damage to your eyes. I would STRONGLY recommend that you didn't look at the Sun for any length of time.
Posted by Stuart on Monday 27th Nov 2006 (09:15 UTC)
i have hade eye problem for a few years ..when i look at writing the bit in the middle i cant see so if the word i was looking at was qwerty all i see is qwe ty..i have had tests they caNT FIND ANYTHING UP WITH THEM .I HAVE BEEN LOOKING ON THE NET FOR SIMPTOMS ..I AM 100% SURE ITS BEEN THE SUN .ARE THEY any treament for it
Posted by john on Tuesday 05th Dec 2006 (17:24 UTC)
John, this isn't the right place to ask for medical advice. If I were you I would contact an optometrist or opthalmologist and perhaps check out the Royal National Institute for the Blind's pages on low vision.
Posted by Stuart on Wednesday 06th Dec 2006 (09:52 UTC)
I should be blind according to this then.
I looked directly into the Sun today for more then an hour. I've spent as many as 3 hours in a row looking directly into the Sun. I've been looking every chance I can for the last 13 years.
I've looked into the Sun from a very young age.
I'm 49 now and getting a little far sighted but no noticable damage from looking into the sun.
I don't reccomend it if you think it will blind you. What you believe come into existance.
But like smoking cigerets, not everyone gets cancer from it.
Oh don't look.
I don't mean to sound like I'm saying to do it.
But I can. Want witnesses? I Got them. Lots
Peace
JE Moses
Posted by Jesus on Wednesday 13th Dec 2006 (07:33 UTC)
Jesus, I really don't believe that your statement is factually correct. However, even if I was to assume that it was, I think that it is very dangerous to make such statements. Despite your claim that you "don't mean to sound like I'm saying to do it" that is certainly what it will encourage. I do not understand what you wish to accomplish by this.
The analogy with cigarettes doesn't really work. Smoking gives you a statistical chance that you could damage a cell in such a way that it reproduces uncontrollably (i.e. cancer). However, allowing large amounts of sunlight direct into your eyes for some time will raise the temperature at the back of your eye. Heating up cells to high temperatures is a very sure way to kill them.
I have a final question. Why would you spend so long looking directly at the Sun over many years?
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Posted by Gariel on Monday 15th Jan 2007 (19:55 UTC)
My son was at school, during break time he decided to stare at the sun for 2 minutes. When he got back home he was watching tv and he kept saying there was something wrong with the colour, he kept seeing pink, then hour later more colours! will this have a long term damage on his eyes?
Posted by marie on Tuesday 23rd Jan 2007 (17:06 UTC)
I would seek medical advice if I were you. It will not have done his eyesight any good and it may have caused long term damage. You should take him to an optician for an eye examination. I hope he turns out to OK.
Posted by Stuart on Tuesday 23rd Jan 2007 (18:54 UTC)
Ever since I learned the dangers of looking at the sun, I have done my best to avoid it over the years. I am OCD so you can imagine how careful I have tried to be. However, playing baseball there were times that I had to stare directly into the sun many times in order to catch pop flys. Today, I walked out without my sun glasses. I came up to a traffic light and had no choice but to look directly into the sun in order to see when the light turned green. The sun was directly behind the signal so I literally had to look directly into it to see when I could go. I am freaking out because I probably looked right at it for about 2 seconds straight. It was so bright that I quickly looked away each time that I glanced up at it. I am worrying myself sick that I may have permaently damaged my eyes. My eyes seem to be working though as of now. Could someone tell me if I should worry about this? If it had done serious damage, would I already know it or could it show up at a later time?
Posted by Glen on Wednesday 07th Feb 2007 (01:08 UTC)
Glen, as far as I know it can take hours to a day or two to see the effects of damage from looking at the Sun. If you are worried, go see an optician or other eye specialist.
Posted by Stuart on Wednesday 07th Feb 2007 (09:50 UTC)
I've already watch directly the sun. The sky was clear, I looked at the sun directly for at least 2 minutes. I didn't feel any pain, and over a year later I don't notice any change in my vision, it is still as perfect as it was. But I don't recommend you attempting this. ( at the moment I was in a very conscious state of mind, and I believed that if I was to look at the sun it would not impair my vision ; seems I was right though )
Posted by Philippe on Monday 19th Feb 2007 (07:30 UTC)
Philippe, out of interest, where was the Sun in the sky (how high above the horizon) at the time?
Posted by Stuart on Monday 19th Feb 2007 (07:48 UTC)
Put your head 45 degrees backward and look straight. That's approximately where the sun was. Not absolutely sure though... But I can tell it was very very bright in the eyes.
Posted by Philippe on Monday 19th Feb 2007 (08:43 UTC)
YOU WEIRD BUT ..................
Posted by corinne on Tuesday 20th Feb 2007 (15:49 UTC)
I DIDN'T REALLY READ IT BUT THE COMMENTS SOUND INTERESTING.
Posted by COZZY on Tuesday 20th Feb 2007 (15:53 UTC)
OOGA
Posted by BOB on Wednesday 28th Feb 2007 (18:20 UTC)
WOW! this is pretty old. Anyway, nice blog. Im doing an assignment at school about looking at the sun and this has helped me to finish it. THANKS!!! :)
Posted by kieran on Tuesday 06th Mar 2007 (07:24 UTC)
dun dun dun
Posted by ??? on Tuesday 06th Mar 2007 (07:26 UTC)
i have desperatly been trying to find ways to look at the sun without hurting my eyes i dont want a picture or n e thing like that i want to look directly at it is there some type of tool i can use?
i was a a tripper for many years and no longer trip so i have permanent visuals now the sun gives off so many beutifull colors itself it is very hard for me not to look right at at and my girlfriend catches me staring at it and smacks me on the back of the head i cant help it there must be some way to see it without the harmful rays hurting my eyes someone please reply
Posted by scott on Monday 14th May 2007 (16:44 UTC)
Scott, get yourself some eclipse viewing glasses. Make sure they have a CE mark (or equivalent) so that you know they are safe. If you have a lot more money to spend, buy yourself a solar telescope. Both of these methods let you look directly at the Sun but cut out a huge amount of the light to make it safe.
Posted by Stuart on Monday 14th May 2007 (17:13 UTC)
I remember looking at the sun for the briefest of moments when we had the best UK solar eclipse many years ago.
The pain at the time was not good, and I wished I had not done it.
PS If anyone wants a link exchange between our astronomy sites, then please contact me.
Posted by Daniel on Thursday 05th Jul 2007 (15:35 UTC)
the info was great it really helped me in my homework normally i would look at the sun but now i have been warned and thank you
Posted by saranyia on Monday 13th Aug 2007 (08:25 UTC)
the info was great it really helped me in my homework normally i would look at the sun but now i have been warned and thank you
Posted by saranyia on Monday 13th Aug 2007 (08:25 UTC)
Hello my good friends. Recently I have suffered many problems due to my cat being murdered, it was a tragic event and made me soooo upset lolz. One day I looked at the SOON and it gave me energy and I had the feeling that god had forgived me for my sins and given me this energy. OPleadse forgove my Inglish im amermerican.
Posted by Ash on Tuesday 11th Sep 2007 (14:31 UTC)
Hi, I drive alot around 6:30, 7:00 PM. I drive the same way every day (to get home) and every time I do it, the sun is always right in front of the car, next to stop lights, etc. I am really frightened about what this could be doing to my eyes. I am wearing a pair of pretty cheap sunglasses, but feel I need more protection. Please advise. thanks
I really am worried about this. email me, ajsellaroli@gmail.com
Posted by AJ on Friday 14th Sep 2007 (19:43 UTC)
AJ, the thing to do in this sort of situation is to limit the amount of light (optical and UV) getting to your eyes. The simplest thing to do is what I do and pull down the sun shade (the thing with the mirror on it attached to the roof over the drivers seat). You can angle that to block the sun but still see some of the road.
As the year progresses this should be less of a problem because the Sun will set at a different time and in a different place.
Posted by Stuart on Sunday 16th Sep 2007 (12:25 UTC)
HOW ABOUT IF ONE LOOKS DIRECTLY AT THE SUN FOR A FEW SECONDS, WITHOUT THE TELESCOPE,ONLY WITH YOUR BARE EYE.DOES ONE GO BLIND?
Posted by ADRIAN on Friday 04th Jan 2008 (04:13 UTC)
When Iâ™m a little child a have a weird hobby sometimes in the morning or at daylight I like to see a sun with my bare eyes without any filers and I like it a lot even some time my tears dropping a lot, because after several minutes you will be different colors like rainbow and itâ™s very interesting. Right now Iâ™m 35 and my eyes still ok without using any glasses.
Posted by yan on Monday 14th Apr 2008 (02:13 UTC)
I was lighting a piece of wood using a lens. I focused the lens on the wood and watched it make the wood start smoking. This took about a minute. After that, I noticed that my eyesite had a transparent orange circle no matter what I looked at.
Looking directly at the sun focal point on the wood is very dangereous and I should have wore snow blind glasses.
The orange cicles went away in about an hour but I don't know if my retinas are damaged
Anybody care to discuss this.
Posted by Mary Roach on Wednesday 30th Jul 2008 (11:00 UTC)
i looked at the sun for about ten seconds or so and later that evening when i looked at lights ie,candles and lit bulbs the light emitted was PINK.i had a very strange evening lol. vision is back to normal now though thank goddness.
Posted by emma on Monday 04th Aug 2008 (00:28 UTC)
what if you look into the rays when you use a magnifying glass and u see the light from the sun going through the glass when your trying to burn something
Posted by hihihihi on Sunday 10th Aug 2008 (14:37 UTC)
Recently, I was informed of the benefits of looking directly at the morning (rising) sun. Apparently, one should do so without one's spectacles. Also after a minute or so, one should focus on the area immediately above the sun, that is, not looking into the core of the sun. This practice apparently has its benefits and I was asked to visit the website www.sunyoga.info. But now I am confused - is it good or not good to look at the sun. Can somebody please advise?
Posted by Matthew on Friday 22nd Aug 2008 (06:15 UTC)
i did look at the sun with my eyes but my vision is poor and will i go blind?i never look at again when i did once(only for 2 seconds
Posted by pat on Saturday 23rd Aug 2008 (23:36 UTC)
Thanks a heap Stuart
my assignment is that much closer to being finished and it is always awesome to see something burn/blow up.
Posted by Bob on Monday 15th Sep 2008 (11:31 UTC)
i was just looking at your website and i thought it was brilliant and educational even with the comments that bring down a bit thanks
Posted by franki clarke on Monday 22nd Sep 2008 (17:26 UTC)
I've looked at the sun a lot of times directly, it leaves a weird glowing circle in your eye but goes away after about 1 minute, now I see a tiny purple dot wherever I look, but Its hard to know its there unless I'm staring at something,
if you want to know what the circle looks like, look into a light without a lampshade(Not an energy saver one!) then look around
Posted by guy on Friday 07th Nov 2008 (18:28 UTC)
when i was 7. me and my friends used 2 look at the sun i used 2 see people as purple. i used 2 look at the sun for like 5-20seconds this was at break time around 10:25am. but it went after a few mins. for some reasons i can look at really bright lights longer then most people without pain. im now 12 will this cause any problems like when im an adult and stuff. (also i never look at the sun any more and when i used 2 look at the sun i quit after a month or so. and i used 2 look at it once a week or so.)
Posted by Ikram on Wednesday 24th Dec 2008 (18:27 UTC)
when i was 7. me and my friends used 2 look at the sun i used 2 see people as purple. i used 2 look at the sun for like 5-20seconds this was at break time around 10:25am. but it went after a few mins. for some reasons i can look at really bright lights longer then most people without pain. im now 12 will this cause any problems like when im an adult and stuff. (also i never look at the sun any more and when i used 2 look at the sun i quit after a month or so. and i used 2 look at it once a week or so.)
Posted by Ikram on Wednesday 24th Dec 2008 (18:27 UTC)
Posted by Stuart on Thursday 25th Dec 2008 (02:38 UTC)
Is it bad to look at the sun reflecting off something? The sun is reflecting off the concrete floor behind me and i can see it on the computer screen. Will that damage my vision?
Posted by Jonathan on Wednesday 31st Dec 2008 (18:59 UTC)
Ok so i have this thing (OCD i think) where i keep on looking at the sun. I look at it probably for about 2 seconds every day and sometimes longer. I am very scared that i will permanently damage my vision, so how long do you think it would take to blind you? Is it just as bad to do glances instead of direct staring at the sun? Also i have heard that sunglasses make it worse because your pupils dilate and it still lets in light.
Posted by Comrie on Monday 19th Jan 2009 (19:13 UTC)
I was at the Griffith Observatory in LA a couple hours ago. There was this one exhibit where sunlight from the telescope is reflected onto this plate so it can read the spectrum. My silly girlfriend told me it was cool to look up into the telescope. I looked up, and it was the power of the sun directed onto my eyes. I immediately looked away; it was probably no more than 1/2 a second of looking. Immediately afterwards, they had a dull ache. Since then, I've been having a hard time focusing on objects and trying to read really strains my eyes. Is this only temporary? Does anyone have any info? Am I screwed?
Posted by Bucky on Monday 09th Mar 2009 (02:23 UTC)
ery Interested in this post :Comrie on Monday 19th Jan 2009!!!
I have exactly the same problem. Can remember growing up having comulsions to stare at the sun but it would come and go so it didn't bother me to much. The last 5 years it's got worse and can only link this to OCD. Are quick glances at the sun bad for eyes. Still fear for my eyesight as sometimes stare at the sun for longer. This is really worrying me and dont know how i can get over it. Even have facinations with staring into bright lightbulbs. Have mentioned this to friends but as they can't relate they just laugh as if im not serious. Does anyone know how this comes about as its got so much worse. Please help me and offer some advice please. I have always been fit and healthy bar this very debilitating thing which is making me extremely stressed as dont want to loose my sight! ps...im not crazy!!!
Posted by Zak on Monday 16th Mar 2009 (19:18 UTC)
Around the equator early in the morning the Sun is massive but orange-red... like a previous comment it is impossible to avoid while driving. But based on the grape experiment this shouldn't be a problem since its orange-red the light isn't intense (compared to bright white high in the sky). There is no natural reflex to look away from it. Such a reflex is designed to protect you so would it be correct that it is safe since your body doesn't deem it a threat? Shining a bright desk light in a pitch black room seems to be more injuring. Also playing sports like tennis you are 'forced to look at it'. I tend not look at the actual sun's circle but try to focus on the ball/sky near it. I don't play anymore but it happened alot. While serving you are looking at it for a good 5seconds per serve. What are the implications of that?
Posted by Wade on Wednesday 01st Apr 2009 (16:32 UTC)
It isn't safe to assume that because the body doesn't react you are safe. The body doesn't protect you from a build up of carbon monoxide or from a lack of oxygen; in both these cases you can die but your body doesn't really give you a warning.
Posted by Stuart on Wednesday 01st Apr 2009 (18:41 UTC)
so if you did brief glances at the sun over a a span of like 2 weeks that equaled 20 seconds would that be as bad as staring at the sun for 20 straight seconds.
Posted by Comrie on Thursday 09th Apr 2009 (01:54 UTC)
I looked at the sun when there was an eclipse in 1977 uk started to realise there was a permanent dot in my eye with swirly colours in can block out letters completely especially against a white background the optician said she can actually see the hole in my retina i looked at it for about two minutes on and off so be warned NEVER look at the sun makes me realise what a stupid fourteen year old I was especially as i skived school to look at it
Posted by janet on Thursday 16th Apr 2009 (23:42 UTC)
Posted by ian on Tuesday 30th Jun 2009 (08:52 UTC)
okay the only reason I found this article is because i'm doing some research because of my own stupidity. Yesterday i was laying by the pool and the sun was right above me so I opened my left eye and looked directly at it for no more then 20 or 30 seconds. Anyway today i've got a blind spot in my left eyes vision about the size of the sun in the sky that it was yesterday. So I got first hand experience that it is extremely dangerous to look at it. I'm only worried is this going to be permanent blind spot in my eye or is it temporary, trying to find an answer before I go see an eye doctor tomorrow.
Posted by Dave on Saturday 04th Jul 2009 (04:31 UTC)
Posted by Stuart on Sunday 05th Jul 2009 (16:31 UTC)
Hi, I'm trying to find some serious and scientific facts abot whether staring at the sun is dangerous or not.
That's because I used to stare at the Sun as a kid whenever I wanted to. Then someone told me not to do it, that it's dangerous and scared me about it.
It was only a few years ago that I stared at the Sun again, after many years. The problem was that I was feeling sick and I was sure that I'd faint. Slowly everything was becoming dark around me and I was losing consciousness. Then I turned my head to the Sun and stared at it until the darkness went away.
Anyway I'd be very very angry if it turned out that it's not so dangerous at all. Because, as a kid, I wasn't afraid of the Sun, I liked my "staring sessions". And now that I'm reading about all these people here in the comments who still stare at the sun, I feel cheated. I believe in science and I believe scientists but now I'm kinda starting to feel as if some uberreligious commander told me: "Don't stare at the Sun, it's the devil that will take your soul". If scientists are prepared to just lie and proclaim uninvestigated facts as total truths, then I have no more reason to believe them as I would have to believe in ghosts, gods and other mumbojumbo. PLEASE people, do some studies, test, whatever...but get your facts straight. Just because something sounds logicall doesn't mean it's true.
I'd say that for some people, staring at the Sun is dangerous and for some it is not! So if you have a need to look at it and had that need since you were a kid, maybe your eyes are ok with it. Btw I have a perfectly healthy sight.
Posted by Bojan on Monday 06th Jul 2009 (14:54 UTC)
Hi everyone out there...fact, staring at the sun is dangerous...but haven't we all been in a situation where we have been exposed to the sun...whether at dawn or dusk it is unavoidable and certainly would have damaged our eyes by now...are you telling everyone from your fears and comments here that staring for a few seconds at the sun will actually cause permanent damage to the whole human race, c'mon we are all exposed to the sun everyday in every way, if you just glanced for a few seconds that will not hurt you at all, we have all done it at some time in our lives, just don't stare for prolonged periods and use common sense...peace
Posted by Savannah on Thursday 30th Jul 2009 (02:37 UTC)
Hi everyone out there...fact, staring at the sun is dangerous...but haven't we all been in a situation where we have been exposed to the sun...whether at dawn or dusk it is unavoidable and certainly would have damaged our eyes by now...are you telling everyone from your fears and comments here that staring for a few seconds at the sun will actually cause permanent damage to the whole human race, c'mon we are all exposed to the sun everyday in every way, if you just glanced for a few seconds that will not hurt you at all, we have all done it at some time in our lives, just don't stare for prolonged periods and use common sense...peace
Posted by Savannah on Thursday 30th Jul 2009 (02:37 UTC)
Hi everyone out there...fact, staring at the sun is dangerous...but haven't we all been in a situation where we have been exposed to the sun...whether at dawn or dusk it is unavoidable and certainly would have damaged our eyes by now...are you telling everyone from your fears and comments here that staring for a few seconds at the sun will actually cause permanent damage to the whole human race, c'mon we are all exposed to the sun everyday in every way, if you just glanced for a few seconds that will not hurt you at all, we have all done it at some time in our lives, just don't stare for prolonged periods and use common sense...peace
Posted by Savannah on Thursday 30th Jul 2009 (02:38 UTC)
i used too look at the sun for like 5 mins straight in pre-school. will i have perm damage in my eyes now?
Posted by hi on Friday 18th Sep 2009 (03:35 UTC)
Aqui do Brasil o Sol é lindo, para não fazer mal em olhar diretamente, usamos lentes escuras, principalmente as de chapas de RX
Posted by Alexandre on Thursday 01st Oct 2009 (17:36 UTC)
Hello,
A while back, say a month or so ago, I went upstate to visit my friend. We generally catch the sunrise from atop a residential hill that overlooks the bay. That morning I swear I stared at the sun for 20 minutes. It was very low on the horizon, as it had just risen. But I've been very worried that I might end up blind one day because of it. I don't have any noticeable damage to my vision...yet. But who's to say that in 20 years I won't be blind because of it.
The Sun literally is the most amazing thing in the solar system, without it, we'd all be without life. I don't know what I was thinking, I guess I forgot (or no one ever told me) that looking at the sun was a bad idea. I figured that was only during eclipses. No idea where the logic was in that... but nonetheless, I really hope that I don't go blind one day.
I'm going to assume that if there were any damage, I would be aware of it. Unless I'm just an idiot and can't tell that my own vision is distorted.
Posted by Brandon on Wednesday 04th Nov 2009 (11:15 UTC)
I use to stare at the sun when i was a kid, now I am wondering if it did hurt my eyes, I am noticing damage and I use to be able to see better, plus I see little floters, now. almost like I can see thought a microscope and my normal vision at the same time, I belive this is me seeing the bad things in my eye, I have done it recently as well. this is why I looked this up. I am making ir filters for my camera. and thought I could use it to look at the sun, but I guess not I was on the hoya ir filters web page and they told me not to use the filter to look at the sun, it will still hurt my eye, and you can hardly see thought a band pass filter, I am talking about a filter with a pass around 700 nano meters to like 1000 nano meters.
hoyaoptics
and the hoya site, this might help some of you.
Matthew Gorveatte
Posted by Matthew Gorveatte on Sunday 08th Nov 2009 (11:46 UTC)
I find these comments really interesting. Personally I look at the Sun all the time. It usually turns a bluish color and when I look away I can see a pink circle where the Sun used to be. This effect goes away in usually a few seconds, or occasionally a minute or two after I look away. I currently do not have any problems and I find it hard to believe that I will develop serious problems later in life. I think this is because generally, I look at the sun when it's high in the sky which means it's a brighter day and our apertures (pupils) are smaller to allow less light to come in. The same effect occurs at sunrise/sunset because since there is so much light, that light doesn't actually damage our eyes as much. I do, however agree with not staring during an eclipse since the every thing is darker meaning our pupils are open wider. Also, I want to thank you for your video because that illustrates how dangerous it could be to look through a lens. I have experienced this once when I looked through binoculars at the sun. It was extremely intense, so I looked away after less than half a second, and I was instantly aware of the possible damage I could have done had I looked longer (I could actually feel heat on my eye). But, generally, I think people are overreacting when they think they will go blind by looking at the sun with their naked eye for just a few seconds. I think your body's natural reflexes will help save you some damage.
Posted by Amir on Friday 13th Nov 2009 (07:32 UTC)
P.S.
I recently (a couple years ago) passed an eye exam with flying colors, so I know that I haven't done any damage to my eyes to date.
Also, I have to disagree with your comparison about carbon monoxide. It's a different situation entirely, The molecule is more attracted to red blood cells than oxygen so the gas actually sort of tricks the blood into thinking it's O2 and once they bond it's too late. But with the eye, our body is actually designed to counter the amount of light by making the pupil smaller. (like a camera automatically makes its aperture smaller when there is a really bright light. What is dangerous, and thus comparable to the carbon monoxide is an eclipse. Like I said before, because the surrounding area is dark, our pupils dilate to enable us to see things. The extremely bright nature of the sun will damage your eyes. So in a sense, our eyes are "tricked" during an eclipse, but not during everyday viewing since our eyes are designed to adjust. I don't recommend staring for a long time at the sun because eventually the rays do burn a hole in the retina, causing permanent damage. Staring for just a few seconds won't do permanent damage, although it may damage it a little, the retina can correct the issue.
Posted by Amir on Friday 13th Nov 2009 (08:06 UTC)
hi i live in ireland near knock. you might have heard about the recent apparitions there of mary. Many have claimed the see the sun dancing in the sky.
i wasnt in knock but on the day of the apparition at 3.00 the time mary was suppose to appear i was walking to the shop,when i just clanced at the sun that exact monment i couldnt believe my eyes ,it was spining on uts axis and moving in a zig zag pattern towards the earth,it was changing colours. it wasnt bright but a small disc and was easy to look at it. i stared at it for a half an hour,also there was another woman there who stared at it for the same time period.
after that my eyes were completly fine. A month past and i was walking to the shop again at 9.00 in the morning, this time the sun appeared to be much brighter than the first time but again was spining and moving in a zig zag pattern..shocked again i rang my friends who also seen it.it was happening all day and when we were travelling in the car i would stare at it for a while and look away.
later that day i had a blind spot in both eyes, i cant make out peoples faces far away and i find it difficult to read. im also suffering from bad head aches. ive been in the hospital all week , and they took photograghs from the back of my eye.they told me ive burned the retina in my eye badly. they were shocked at the effects and seemed to be angry at what was going on in knock.
they said that the sun does not spin ,its your eyes playing tricks.
I still believe something is happening with the sun,i have never seen such a thing in my life. why hasnt any astronmists noticed this before...thousands have witnessed it but only in holy places. like megjagory ..fatima ..knock. im not saying its a holy phenonemon. but i do think the sun is 'dancing' as people call it.
the doctor says that my eyes might heal themselves im hoping that this bind spot will get better as im very distressed over it.
i would not recommend to look at the sun under any circumstances!!...do not look at the sun dancing in the sky...you dont want a blind spot trust me!
Posted by marie-clare on Friday 27th Nov 2009 (16:02 UTC)
Posted by Stuart on Friday 27th Nov 2009 (16:28 UTC)
yes definitely was the sun no doubt about that!
Posted by Marie clare on Saturday 28th Nov 2009 (12:40 UTC)
Posted by Stuart on Saturday 28th Nov 2009 (18:03 UTC)
when it stopped spining it returned to its original position and we could not look at it any more as it was too bright. what else could it be...and since it was what i was looking at that burned the retina in my eyes...im assuming it was the sun!
Posted by Marie-clare on Sunday 29th Nov 2009 (02:17 UTC)
i agree with many comments on this board reason im reading intosuch things is because abouta year ago my eye sight started deteriating i told my optiction he said it was something called floaters and there was nothing he could do it was "normal" well in anger afew days later i looked at the sun twice both times 3 seconds each after i have had likelines in my vision cant see in the dark ect so i go to the hospital and he said after all this they could of done something about my condition so ive demaged my sight forever for no reason... moral of the story dont risk looking at the sun if you cant handle the damage it will have done that i will and you wouldhave to live with for ever.. Gc
Posted by Guy C on Thursday 03rd Dec 2009 (17:19 UTC)
this is extremely useful information for astronomers. however for people with office jobs this might be important too.
Posted by jen on Tuesday 08th Dec 2009 (02:03 UTC)
This happens to me as well - whenever I look at a powerful lamp for, say, 5 seconds, and then look away, closing my eyes tightly, I see a pink/purple circle form where the bulb was in my vision. It fades away quite quickly though - after around 3 seconds it would be gone.
What I'm trying to say is, what's with all the pink??
Posted by Stephan on Saturday 12th Dec 2009 (18:22 UTC)
once i looked at the sun directly just because my sister told me. we both looked at it for several seconds and then all looked green and sort of blurry. i didn't know it was dangerous.
maybe that's why i use glasses right now.
Posted by fernando on Wednesday 30th Dec 2009 (05:15 UTC)
i dont think looking at the sun at evening when it is about to set can hurt your eyes.. it looks bright orange..its not even feelng hot at that time and even no spots can be seen even if we look at it for a long time..infact it looks perfectly round and in a 3D effect...if spots cannot be seen after looking at it at that time how can it damage the eyes?just my experience...well not recommended at all in the hours between...
Posted by vinod on Monday 04th Jan 2010 (03:28 UTC)
The colored spot on your eye is called an "afterimage." Afterimages happen when the color-sensitive cells on the back of your eye get bombarded with a lot of colored light that stimulates them heavily. For some time afterwards, they will keep giving false reports that they're seeing a color, even if they really aren't. Eventually, they calm down. That's where the pink or green spots are coming from.
An afterimage doesn't mean your eyes have been damaged all by itself; it's easy to get them, even from light sources that aren't all that bright compared to something like the Sun (or the beam of a laser pointer, which focuses about the same amount of light on a given spot as the Sun does- ask someone with a physics degree to do the math if you don't believe me).
Very bright light (like direct sunlight or the beam of a bright laser pointer) *can* cause real, permanent eye damage. You won't feel any heating or pain, because there aren't any nerves inside your eyeballs to pick up the pain. You just burn out patches of cells.
How much exposure it takes to cause damaging burns on the eye is a tough question. It's best to avoid looking at anything that intense at all, but if your child looks at the Sun for a few seconds or something it doesn't mean they're going to go completely blind. Staring into the Sun for minutes or hours, on the other hand, is foolish and self-destructive.
Posted by Simon_Jester on Saturday 09th Jan 2010 (05:01 UTC)
Stuart:
How about in the morning, when the sun is just rising? On some days in Hawaii, we have "vog" (volcanic haze) that makes the sun appear very round, very red/orange, and has no blaring sunrays. It's like the sun on the Japanese flag. Could I glance then?
Thanks!
Tim
Posted by Tim on Monday 11th Jan 2010 (17:51 UTC)
i cam't look...
Posted by eastside.: on Sunday 07th Feb 2010 (02:43 UTC)
My Name is Rosemary, and I did something foolish when I was 11 years old. I am now 22 years old..
¨
I looked at the sun with a binoculars, for a while. When I came back to the house, the lightbulb was pink. I was so foolish , but now I am curious about eye damage.
I can see things perfectly. I have never needed glasses....
I am worried about the damage caused.
How long does it take for damage to show? Years?
In what ways would the damage present itself?
Posted by Rosie on Sunday 07th Feb 2010 (09:36 UTC)