What’s actually happening when you rub your eyes hard enough to “see stars”?
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Ever wonder why you see stars when you rub your eyes? It’s because you’re actually pressing on the light-sensitive cells in your retina. When these cells get squished, they send signals to your brain that look like flashes or dots of light, even though there’s no actual light there. It’s like a little visual glitch caused by your fingers.
They are called phosphenes. You have smooshed your eye hard enough to cause the cells at the back to register a response your brain interprets as spots of light.
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