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Belzebutt t1_ixay0dd wrote

Reply to comment by Aunti-Everything in Just how dark is deep space? by ArmchairSpinDoctor

One is the things that blew my mind is when I found out that the reason Andromeda is so hard to spot in the sky isn’t that it’s small, it’s because it’s so faint. It’s actually much bigger than the moon in the sky!

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_AlreadyTaken_ t1_ixb1pez wrote

Just to add...

It is the furthest thing you can see with your naked eye. You have to use averted vision to see it so the rods around your fovea get engaged. They are more sensitive to dim light.

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Belzebutt t1_ixb6pjp wrote

What is this averted vision business you speak of?

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the_agox t1_ixbask3 wrote

The center of your vision is less sensitive to dim light (but much better at seeing color) than the periphery, so averted vision is looking at the blank space next to a dim thing you want to see, so that the sensitive part of your eye sees the dim thing

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Belzebutt t1_ixbhtge wrote

Ah, thanks! I’ll try it.

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mikmckn t1_ixbx3h5 wrote

This is also why you "see things from the corner of your eye." Your visual clarity is best in your central field of view, but your eyes are actually better at detecting motion at the periphery of your view. Your eyes detect the change in light better at the edges and your brain says "something just moved."

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NeverPlayF6 t1_ixcpyln wrote

You can try this in your own house. Just find a place with almost no light, let your eyes get accustomed to the dark, and then try to look an objects straight-on. They're very difficult or impossible to see. Then try looking next to that object. You should be able to see it.

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EffectEmpty t1_ixb153f wrote

Is this actually true, because if so that’s incredible. I had no idea, and to think our nearest planet is a speck smaller than the moon. That’s insane.

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jzillacon t1_ixc367n wrote

It's not even that dim either, it's just drowned out by the light pollution of our own galaxy.

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