- #1
peter.ell
- 43
- 0
I've looked into optics and the biology of the eye, and I know that, although the fovea is an area with our highest visual acuity, light is still focused on the retina around the fovea even when we're not looking directly at something. Clearly it is not safe to look direct at the sun, but people often have the sun in their peripheral vision, even very close to their fovea, without losing their sight. My question is how.
The cornea and lens are not so imperfect as to only focus light properly on the fovea, and if we can see the sun clearly in our peripheral vision, then the same intensity of focused light that would ordinarily be hitting the fovea if looking straight at the sun is still striking our retina. So why doesn't it burn our retina or at least cause us to lose our vision in that part of our eyes?
Thanks.
The cornea and lens are not so imperfect as to only focus light properly on the fovea, and if we can see the sun clearly in our peripheral vision, then the same intensity of focused light that would ordinarily be hitting the fovea if looking straight at the sun is still striking our retina. So why doesn't it burn our retina or at least cause us to lose our vision in that part of our eyes?
Thanks.