Flash of light in eye when closed in dark ro
The triggered cells are localized around the spot where the cosmic ray passes, so the flash has some structure.
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“When a cosmic ray happens to pass through the retina it causes the rods and cones to fire, and you perceive a flash of light that is really not there. Pettit described the physics/biology of what takes place: In a report on the Apollo experiment, astronauts described the types of flashes they saw in three ways: the ‘spot’, the ‘streak’, and the ‘cloud’ and all but one described the flashes as ‘white’ or ‘colorless.’ One crewmember, Apollo 15 Commander David Scott, described one flash as “blue with a white cast, like a blue diamond.” As I drift off, I wonder how many can dance on the head of an orbital pin.” But in the dark confines of my sleep station, with the droopy eyelids of pending sleep, I see the flashing fairies. Flashes in my eyes, like luminous dancing fairies, give a subtle display of light that is easy to overlook when I’m consumed by normal tasks. “In space I see things that are not there. But astronauts outside the atmosphere can find themselves “seeing things that aren’t there,” wrote current International Space Station astronaut Don Pettit, who told about his experience of seeing these flashes on his blog: Fortunately, cosmic rays passing through Earth are usually absorbed by our atmosphere.
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Cosmic rays are high-energy charged subatomic particles whose origins are not yet known. It was determined the astronauts were ‘seeing’ cosmic rays zipping through their eyeballs.
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These experiments involved blindfolding crewmembers and recording their comments during designated observation sessions, and later missions had a special device, the Apollo Light Flash Moving Emulsion Detector (ALFMED), which was worn by the astronauts during dark periods to record of incidents of cosmic ray hits. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin both reported these flashes during the Apollo 11 mission, and similar reports during the Apollo 12 and 13 missions led to subsequent Apollo missions including experiments specifically looking at this strange phenomenon. Astronauts have long reported the experience of seeing flashes while they are in space, even when their eyes are closed.