I thought you could go blind looking at the sun.

Edit: My title was worded badly. I meant how people don’t go blind. I understand why people look at sunsets, just not how they do blind. That’s my fault.

Edit: Thanks for all the replies and clarification!

Here’s what I learned incase anyone else has had the same question as me, the reason we don’t go blind is that we’re usually looking at the colours of the sky during a sunset and only some few second glances at the sun.

Looking at the sun also doesn’t make us go blind during sunrise and sunset because the light rays have to go through more atmosphere, so by the time they reach your eyes, the rays are weaker. It’s fine to look at the sun for a few seconds when it’s more red than white or yellow.

Again, thanks for all the clarification.

  • Jordan117@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    1 year ago

    When the sun is very low (nearly touching or even partly below the horizon), it’s typically shining through such a large amount of atmosphere that the sunlight is significantly weakened by the time it reaches your eyes. This isn’t always true though, for ex if the air is unusually dry, clear, or thin (such as near the poles). Good rule of thumb is that if it looks red rather than yellow or white, it’s likely safe to look at for at least a few seconds.