What specifically makes solar eclipses dangerous to watch with the naked eye directly?
2006-09-22 10:56:38 · 14 answers · asked by questionMan 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Observing the Sun can be dangerous if you do not take the proper precautions. The solar radiation that reaches the surface of Earth ranges from ultraviolet (UV) radiation at wavelengths longer than 290 nm to radio waves in the meter range. The tissues in the eye transmit a substantial part of the radiation between 380 and 1400 nm to the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. While environmental exposure to UV radiation is known to contribute to the accelerated aging of the outer layers of the eye and the development of cataracts, the concern over improper viewing of the Sun during an eclipse is for the development of "eclipse blindness" or retinal burns.
Exposure of the retina to intense visible light causes damage to its light-sensitive rod and cone cells. The light triggers a series of complex chemical reactions within the cells which damages their ability to respond to a visual stimulus, and in extreme cases, can destroy them. The result is a loss of visual function which may be either temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the damage. When a person looks repeatedly or for a long time at the Sun without proper protection for the eyes, this photochemical retinal damage may be accompanied by a thermal injury - the high level of visible and near-infrared radiation causes heating that literally cooks the exposed tissue. This thermal injury or photocoagulation destroys the rods and cones, creating a small blind area. The danger to vision is significant because photic retinal injuries occur without any feeling of pain (there are no pain receptors in the retina), and the visual effects do not occur for at least several hours after the damage is done .
2006-09-22 11:15:40 · answer #1 · answered by Krynne 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Is A Solar Eclipse Dangerous
2016-11-05 00:04:29 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sight of Solar Eclipse is astonishing and hard to be missed, but people should take extra precautions as the sun rays could lead to serious complications in the eyes. Watching the sun for a few seconds could cause solar poisoning that leads to permanent damages in the sight and in simple cases could affect the eye's ability to recognise colour. The sun is about 100,000 times too bright to look at, and on any given day, if people were to stare at the sun long enough, they would go blind. This rarely happens because our eyes have an instinctive aversion response that makes us look away. But there is no pain sensor to know when our vision is being burned. As the solar eclipse progresses and the moon's shadow takes an increasingly larger bite out of our view of the sun, it only becomes about 1,000 times too bright to look at. Even when the sun is 1 percent away from a total eclipse, there is still a danger of being blinded. That's why anyone who wants to see a partial eclipse has to wear special solar viewing sunglasses.
2016-03-17 02:56:23 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a bit of an urban myth. The radiation coming from the sun during an eclipse is no different from the radiation emitted at any other time (there is no special "eclipse radiation"). The problem is that normally the sun is so bright that we can't look at it for more than a second or two without our eyes hurting. During an eclipse, most of the light is blocked by the moon's shadow, so we can conceivably look at it for a longer period of time without apparent discomfort. However, even with the eclipse there is still a fair amount of radiation (just not in the wavelengths we're most sensitive to) hitting your eyes, and prolonged exposure will cause damage. However, looking at an eclipse for a few seconds without protection will not cause any problems. The media can't tell you that, because if they do people would sue them when they look too long and suffer eye damage.
2006-09-22 11:23:08 · answer #4 · answered by stevewbcanada 6 · 4⤊ 2⤋
It is always dangerous to watch the sun without protection.
Even if you are watching a solar eclipse the light from the corona can still harm your eyes. Don't try that!
2006-09-22 10:59:46 · answer #5 · answered by PragmaticAlien 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Looking at a partially eclipsed sun is dangerous because the little bit of sun that is visible is bright enough to burn your retina, but the total amount of light isn't enough to make it uncomfortable. It isn't like you'll be instantly struck blind, but staring at it can cause a blind spot on your retina.
The totally eclipsed sun is perfectly safe to look at, the corona is *not* going to hurt your eyes. But put your eclipse glasses back on as soon as the first sliver of sun reappears.
2006-09-22 11:58:31 · answer #6 · answered by injanier 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
watching the sun is bad for a human eye, even looking at the solar eclipse.
you should always look at a reflection of the solar eclpise.
2006-09-22 11:04:15 · answer #7 · answered by sonicwingmode 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is dangerous to watch sun with naked eye during eclipse as there are certain hramful solar radiations coming out during this phase which make the person blind if he/she looks at the sun
2006-09-22 11:03:33 · answer #8 · answered by chumbawamba 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
You cannot look to the eclipse because the sun have infrared rays it will cause u blindness
2014-03-15 12:48:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the fact that you are looking directly at the sun with out any type of protection over your eyes
2006-09-22 10:59:27 · answer #10 · answered by skitle 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋