Why is looking at the sun during a solar eclipse worse than looking at the sun on a normal day?
In: Physics
The sun is really, really bright. If you try to look directly at it, hopefully you have an impulse to look away. Even if you manage to suppress that impulse, you’re at least going to squint, shade your eyes, or do something to mitigate the damage.
During an eclipse, most of that brightness (in the visible spectrum, at least) is gone. Your eyes can open almost fully. That natural impulse to look away is much smaller and easier to suppress. You can look directly at it longer.
Longer exposure = increased chance of permanent damage.
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