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Asked by rubyfernfern to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 19 Mar 2011.
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Jemma Ransom answered on 18 Mar 2011:
It certainly hurts my eyes when I look at the sun!
Essentially, the sun damages a part of the back of your eye called the retina. This is the part that receives all the light signals from the outside world and converts them to electrical impulses that your brain can understand and process. If this part of the eye is damaged, signals are not converted into a language that the brain can undertsand, and blindness results.
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Eoin Lettice answered on 18 Mar 2011:
Hi ruby,
I think Steve is the best person to ask about this. He knows all about eyes!!
Eoin -
Julian Rayner answered on 18 Mar 2011:
Hi rubyfernfern. I’m not really sure that is true – as in, I’m sure the sun damages your vision by burning holes in your retina, but not sure that it takes a day to do so. Steve?
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Stephen Moss answered on 19 Mar 2011:
Hi Rubyfernfern
If you looked right at the sun it probably would hurt your eyes, certainly if it was for more than just a second or two. But this is a very dangerous thing to do. The cells in the back of your eyes that detect light are very sensitive (which is good because it means we can see even when it’s almost pitch black), but just a bit too much light can kill them. The message is, never look directly at the sun.
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Charlie Ryan answered on 19 Mar 2011:
hi ruby! er ok not sure about the llamas reference – please don’t bring them up again!
It does hurt your eyes when you look at the sun, even straight away!! It can really do some damage – i’m sure stephen can tell you more about this. From an astronomical perspective, it is even worse to look at the sun through binoculars or a telescope. If you do wish to look at the sun through an instrument, hold a piece of paper a little away from the eyepiece, and it should show the sun clearly. You should also be able to see sunspots!
Sorry to be a bore – but never look directly at the sun – it will hurt.
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