Why can you look at a sunrise or sunset for an extended period but can’t look at the sun in the middle of the sky for now than a second?

Question

Why can you look at a sunrise or sunset for an extended period but can’t look at the sun in the middle of the sky for now than a second?

In: 15

Answer 1

Same reason why you can look at a lamp with a lampshade, but a bare bulb is uncomfortably bright.

There’s atmosphere in the way scattering and absorbing a large portion of sunlight when it’s at the horizon.