Study participant measuring reading capacity post-retinal implant
Moorfields Eye Hospital
Individuals experiencing significant vision impairment can regain the ability to read, thanks to a compact wireless chip implanted in one eye along with advanced glasses.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a prevalent condition that impacts central vision and tends to progress over time. While the precise cause remains unknown, this condition arises from damage to the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells and neurons located in the central retina, leading to difficulties in facial recognition and reading. Available treatments are primarily designed to slow down the progression.
An advanced form of AMD referred to as geographic atrophy typically allows individuals to retain some photoreceptor cells that facilitate peripheral vision, along with sufficient retinal neurons to relay visual information to the brain.
Leveraging this capability, Daniel Palanker and his team at Stanford University in California created the PRIMA device. This system includes a small camera mounted on the glasses, which captures images and projects them through infrared light onto a 2-by-2-millimeter solar-powered wireless chip implanted at the rear of the eye.
The chip then transforms the image data into electrical signals, which the retinal neurons transmit to the brain. Infrared light is employed for this process as it is invisible to the human eye, thereby ensuring it does not interfere with any remaining vision. “This allows patients to utilize both the prosthesis and their peripheral vision simultaneously,” explains Palanker.
To evaluate its efficacy, researchers enlisted 32 participants aged 60 and above, all suffering from geographic atrophy. Their visual acuity in at least one eye was below 20/320—meaning they could see what a person with 20/20 vision could see at 320 feet (97.5 meters) only at 20 feet (6 meters).
The team initially implanted a chip in one of the participant’s eyes. After a waiting period of four to five weeks, the volunteers began using the glasses in their everyday activities. The glasses enabled them to magnify their view up to 12 times and adjust brightness and contrast as needed.
After a year of using the device, 27 of the participants managed to read again and recognize shapes and patterns. They also noted an average improvement of five lines on a standard eye chart compared to their initial findings. Some participants were able to achieve 20/42 vision.
“Witnessing them progress from reading letters to full words brought immense joy to both sides. One patient expressed, ‘I believed my eyes were irreparably damaged, but now they’re revitalizing,'” shares Jose Alan Sahel from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
While stem cell therapy and gene therapy may potentially restore vision lost due to AMD, these approaches are still in early experimental trials. PRIMA stands out as the first artificial eye designed to restore functional vision in individuals with the condition, allowing them to perceive shapes and patterns.
Approximately two-thirds of the volunteers experienced temporary side effects, such as increased intraocular pressure, as a result of the implants; however, this did not hinder their vision improvement.
Comparison of a trial participant’s eye (left) and eye with retinal implant (right)
Science Co., Ltd.
“This research is both exciting and significant,” remarks Francesca Cordeiro from Imperial College London. “It provides hope for delivering vision improvements that have previously seemed more like science fiction.”
The improved visibility experienced by participants is limited to black and white. “Our next objective is to develop software to provide grayscale resolution and enhance facial recognition,” states Palanker. Nevertheless, researchers do not anticipate achieving color vision in the near future.
Palanker also aims to increase PRIMA’s resolution, which is currently constrained by pixel size and the total count that can be included on a chip. Testing a more advanced version in rats is underway. “This current version equates to human vision of 20/80, but electronic zoom can enable vision as sharp as 20/20,” he explains.
IT is a warehouse resembling the size of 12 football pitches, poised to provide essential employment and development opportunities in the city of Caucaia, northeastern Brazil. Yet, the shelves remain empty. This extensive facility is set to transform into a data center, as designated by TikTok, になったんです。 English: The first thing you can do is to find the best one to do. part of a 5.5 billion Reais (7.3 billion pounds) project aimed at expanding the global data center infrastructure.
With the increasing demand for supercomputer facilities, Brazil is attracting an array of high-tech companies, buoyed by the AI boom. The selection of Caucaia is strategic. Submarine cables carry data from Fortaleza, the nearby capital of Ceará, to various continents. Proximity to these cables enhances traffic capacity and reduces latency—the response time across the Internet network.
Additionally, Caucaia is home to the Pecém EPZ, where businesses can produce goods and services for export, benefiting from various tax incentives and streamlined bureaucratic processes.
However, data from Brazil’s disaster digital atlas and integrated disaster information system indicate that Caucaia is also prone to extreme weather events, including drought and heavy rainfall.
Between 2003 and 2024, the city experienced drought-related emergency conditions declared at least once. In 2019, around 10,000 residents were impacted by water shortages. The digital atlas of disasters shows that as reservoirs depleted, water quality diminished, leading to crop failures and challenges in access to basic food supplies.
Data centers consume vast amounts of energy and water to keep supercomputers cool. Nevertheless, public agencies are promoting green construction in drought-affected areas. Caucaia is part of a broader trend.
According to the Digital Disaster Atlas, five of the 22 planned data centers are situated in cities that have faced repeated drought and water scarcity since 2003.
So far, China’s social networks have not been mentioned in Caucaia’s permit application. However, in February, the chief of staff for the state government, Chagas Vieira, confirmed in an interview with local radio stations that discussions were ongoing with Chinese firms, and representatives from TikTok and its parent company ByteDance met with senior officials, including the Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin.
ByteDance has been approached for comments.
The truck will deliver water to Caucaia, a city facing repeated problems with drinking water supply. Photo: Marília Camelo/The Guardian
The project is officially led by Casa dos Ventos, a Brazilian wind energy firm that has invested in the data center sector. Mario Araripe, the company’s founder and president, announced last year that he aims to attract major global technology companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft to fill the facility with computers.
Casa dos Ventos has already secured one of the three required licenses from the state of Ceará. According to the state’s Environmental Supervision (SEMACE), the project received a license for “30m³/day water consumption in closed circuits supplied by Artesian Well.” Specific details have been withheld for commercial confidentiality.
Casa dos Ventos claims it is “committed to transforming Porto do Pecém into a complex of technological innovation and energy transition.”
Projects requiring significant energy, such as data centers, are required to obtain special permission from the Brazilian government. As of 2024, at least seven of the 21 approvals granted by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Energy were linked to data centers.
Casa dos Ventos is also responsible for another data center project currently under state review in Campo Redondo, Rio Grande do Norte, a region that has experienced drought for 14 out of the last 21 years. During the water crisis in 2022, local governments sought federal aid, and water trucks were dispatched to address the demand.
A similar situation is unfolding in Igaporanga, Bahia, where a Brazilian renewable energy company plans to establish two data centers. The city has been in a state of emergency due to drought conditions for 12 of the years between 2003 and 2022. In 2021, about 5,500 people faced rural water shortages.
Transparency regarding water usage by data centers under construction in these areas is lacking. Companies have not disclosed this information voluntarily, and the government has withheld technical documents for licensing, citing commercial confidentiality.
In early April, the National Electric Power System Operator (ONS) denied requests for access to the grid for Casa dos Ventos, citing concerns for grid stability. Consequently, the Ministry of Mines and Energy requested a recalculation to assess potential grid adjustments.
bIG tech firms acknowledge their water consumption in water-scarce areas heightened by AI requirements. The 2024 Sustainability Report details that Microsoft reported that 42% of its water usage originates in regions experiencing water stress. Similarly, Google stated that in the same year, 15% of its water consumption fell in areas marked by “high water scarcity.”
Data centers utilize a large volume of water to prevent overheating in computers and machines. However, some water may evaporate, potentially exacerbating the local climate crisis where they are located. As AI technologies evolve, the demand for processing power increases, leading to heightened energy and cooling requirements. Consequently, water and energy consumption are projected to rise.
Workers at a Data Center in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Such facilities utilize considerable amounts of water for cooling machinery. Photo: Jeff Botega
The International Energy Agency projects a significant increase in data center energy consumption to double, reaching 945,000 GWh by 2030—equivalent to Japan’s annual energy consumption. Countries like Brazil will account for approximately 5% of this growth within that timeframe.
Water consumption is expected to surge. Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Texas at Arlington estimate that global AI demand will require between 4.2 billion and 6.6 billion cubic meters of water by 2027, surpassing half of the UK’s annual water usage.
However, Shaolei Ren, a researcher from UC Riverside and co-author of the study, highlights a crucial distinction between consumption (water extracted from the system) and loss (water evaporated).
“Residential users generally do not withdraw significant amounts of water, but data centers often consume between 60% and 80%,” notes Ren, meaning that much water is lost.
Data centers can be cooled through two approaches: one is air conditioning, a widely adopted method for various facilities, while the second is utilizing water.
The outskirts of Caucaia, where inadequate water became unsuitable for urban consumption after reservoirs were depleted in 2019. Photo: Marília Camelo/The Guardian
One method involves recycling or reusing water but incorporates fans and radiators within closed systems, resembling car engine technologies. Alternatively, a cooling tower might use evaporation to expel heat from heated water, allowing the return of cold water to the system. The final method involves misting water into the air, increasing humidity and reducing temperature.
Nonetheless, these methods are not without inefficiencies. “Both evaporation and misting lead to water loss,” asserts Emilio Franceschini, an associate professor at ABC Federal University.
A small data center with a capacity of 1MW consumes around 25.5 million liters of water annually, with an estimated 1% (255,000 liters) lost to evaporation.
In Pecém, alternatives to extracting water include purchasing desalinated seawater or recycled water from Fortaleza.
It falls upon the state government to grant water concessions to data centers as part of the environmental licensing process.
rOnildo Mastroianni, technical director at Esplar, an NGO with a 50-year presence in Ceará, argues that projects demanding high water consumption in semi-arid areas are misguided. “It’s simply pushing for increased dryness,” he asserts.
Mastroianni cautions that such projects could alter the local hydrological basin, which may weaken fragile ecosystems, like the Caatinga, and heighten food insecurity due to rural water scarcity. He indicates that representatives from local NGOs and various Kilombola and Indigenous communities were not included in project discussions.
Due to water stress, many communities have constructed reservoirs to secure water supply during drought periods. Photo: Marília Camelo/The Guardian
Other Latin American nations are also witnessing a surge in the data center industry. Chile has launched 22 data centers in the Santiago region alone. In December, the government announced a National Plan to establish 30 additional projects, projected to place the country at medium to high levels of water stress by 2040, signifying decreased water availability.
In Chile, both governmental and corporate bodies are facing escalating opposition. In 2019, Google disclosed plans for its second data center in Santiago, which sparked estimates from the activist organization MOSACAT indicating the project would extract 700 million liters of water annually.
Following a wave of protests, a Santiago court reviewed the project. By early 2024, the court halted Google’s assessments concerning environmental impacts, pending further evaluation.
Among those advocating against the project was Tania Rodriguez of MOSACAT, who lamented, “That turned into extractivism,” she said in interviews with other outlets. “We will become everyone’s backyards.”
David Patong, an innovative and ideal ophthalmologist, initiated Project Orvis, where he transformed United Airlines jets into flying hospitals, transported surgeons to developing nations, trained local doctors, and passed away on April 3 at his residence in Reno, Nevada.
His son Townlee confirmed his demise.
Dr. Patong (pronounced Pay-Ton), the son of a renowned New York ophthalmologist and descendant of Iranian Shah and financier J. Pierpont Morgan, taught at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University in the early 1970s. He was disheartened by the rising number of preventable blindness cases in remote regions.
In his memoir “Second Sight: A View from The Anay Doctor’s Odyssey” (2011), he wrote, “We needed more ophthalmologists… but also needed to enhance medical education for existing physicians.”
Considering various options like shipping equipment trunks and using medical ships similar to Project Hope, he ultimately founded Project Orvis in 1973 with the support of wealthy individuals like Texas oilmen Leonard F. McCollum and Betsy Trippe Wainwright.
After the moon landing in 1969, Dr. Patong believed that the concept of Moonshot was feasible. He envisioned converting large aircraft into operating rooms, educational classrooms, or any required facility.
He relentlessly sought ways to obtain an airplane, approaching the military and universities without success. Dr. Patong, described by Bruce Spivey as charming and unrelenting, eventually raised the necessary funds himself.
In 1980, with the help of Betsy Trippe, he secured a donated DC-8 Jet from United Airlines to create a flying hospital. This marked the beginning of life-changing missions to various countries where local health workers witnessed surgeries in specially-equipped classrooms onboard.
The Flying Eye Hospital facilitated surgeries in multiple nations like Peru, Jordan, and Nepal, receiving visits from prominent figures like Mother Teresa and Fidel Castro. Their impactful work caught the attention of media outlets like the Sunday Times, sharing stories of patients like Julia.
Julia’s transformative surgery showcased the effectiveness of their efforts in restoring vision to the visually impaired. Despite challenges, the procedure led to profound moments of discovery for Julia as she regained her sight gradually.
Born on August 16, 1930, in Baltimore, David Paton hailed from a family with a rich medical background. His upbringing in Manhattan and exposure to eminent personalities shaped his journey towards medical innovation.
His formative years were filled with experiences among intellectuals and socialites, leading to his academic pursuits at Hill School and Princeton University. He maintained close ties with lifelong friend James A. Baker III while excelling in his medical career.
In addition to his contributions to Project Orvis, Dr. Paton served as a distinguished medical director in institutions like King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital. His dedication to providing eye care to royalty in Saudi Arabia reflected his commitment to improving global healthcare.
Although his formal ties with Project Orvis ended in 1987, Dr. Patong continued to offer guidance informally. The organization, now known as Orbis International, has expanded its operations with a fleet of planes and a robust track record of surgeries and training sessions.
Orbis International’s enduring impact is a testament to Dr. Patong’s visionary approach to healthcare. The organization’s innovative use of airplanes as a platform for medical missions has revolutionized the way eye care is delivered globally.
In In July 2022, Morgan Rose Hart, an aspiring veterinarian with a passion for wildlife, passed away after it was found unresponsive in the Essex mental health unit. She’s just turned 18. Diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Hart’s mental health was affected by bullying, which forced her to move from school several times. She previously tried to take her life and was transferred to Harlow’s unit three weeks before her death.
Hart, from Chelmsford, Essex, passed away on July 12, 2022 after it was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor. The prevention report of future death reports issued after her questioning turned out to be overlooked, and it turns out that important checks were missed, observation records were forged, and risk assessments were not completed.
Investigation by observer And newsletter Democracy for Sale Her death has established that she is one of four, including a high-tech patient surveillance system called Oxevision, which is deployed in almost half of mental health struts across the UK.
Oxevision’s system allows you to measure the patient’s pulse rate and breathing, interfere with the patient at night, and also broadcast CCTV footage temporarily if necessary, without the need for a person to enter the room. The high-tech system can detect a patient’s breathing rate, even when the patient is covered with a futon.
Oxehealth, which was spin-out from the University of Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering in 2012, has agreed to 25 NHS mental health trasts, according to its latest account, reporting revenue of around £4.7 million by December 31, 2023.
However, in some cases, it is argued that instead of doing physical checks, staff rely too heavily on infrared camera systems to monitor vulnerable patients.
There are also concerns that systems that can glow red from corners of the room could exacerbate the pain of patients in mental health crisis, which have increased their sensitivity to monitoring or control.
Sofina, who had experience being monitored by Oxevision among patients and who asked not to use her full name, stated:
“The first thing you see when you open your eyes, the last thing you do when you fall asleep. I was just in a visually impaired state. I was completely hurt.
Advocates argue that the technology can improve safety, but this weekend there will be a call to stop the deployment of Oxevision, raising concerns about patient safety, privacy rights and the conflict of interest in research supporting its use. The campaign group said Oxevision was often installed in patients’ bedrooms without proper consent, with surveillance technology likely causing distress.
In a prevention report of future deaths issued in December 2023 after Hart’s questioning, the coroner pointed out that if a person was in the bathroom for more than three minutes, a staff member would “have to complete a face-to-face check.” Instead, “Oxevision Red Alert has been reset” by staff and Hart was not observed for 50 minutes, and was discovered to be “not responding on the bathroom floor.”
The coroner expressed concern that “some staff may have used Oxevision in their place of instead of just an aid to face-to-face observation.” The conclusion of the judge’s investigation was death from misfortune, which contributed to the contributions of negligence.
Two days before Hart’s death, Michael Nolan, 63, a warehouse operator at risk for self-harm, passed away as a mental health patient at Basildon Hospital. The study said staff used Oxevision as an alternative to physical observations and failed to carry out effective observations. The story’s verdict by the judge included the findings of inadequate training on the Oxevision system.
The following month, 27-year-old Sophie Alderman, who had a history of self-harm, passed away in a patient at Rochford Hospital under the custody of the University of Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Her family says the Ooshivision system caused her pain and hurt her mental health. A few months before her death, she complained about the camera in her room, but she believed it was hacked by the government.
Tammy Smith, Alderman’s mother observer: “I don’t think Oxevision is effective in keeping patients safe. It’s a major invasion of patient privacy.
“Staff aren’t properly trained or used properly on it. People have died while Oxevision is in use, and questions have been raised about its use. That’s enough to pause deployment and actually consider whether this technology will keep patients safe.”
The Care Quality Committee also raised concerns. “A sad death was found in the safety room,” said the NHS Foundation Trust’s testing report, which was released last February. [St Charles hospital in west London] If staff were not fully involved and monitored patients, they were dependent. [Oxevision] It was turned off at the time. ”
The Trust said this weekend that a “tragic death” in March 2023 led to the firing of three individuals, with the use of technology never being designed to replace responsibility and care from staff.
The Lampard study, which examines the deaths of mental health hospitalized patients under the control of the NHS Trust in Essex between January 2000 and December 2023, is being asked to investigate Oxevision.
Sophina of a former patient monitored by Oxevision.
Bindmans, a law firm representing Alderman’s family and another patient’s family, spoke to Baroness Lampard about the concerns about consent and the safety and effectiveness of the system. He said there are concerns that staff may delegate the responsibility to monitor patients to “Digital Eye.”
A review by the National Institute of Health Therapy, published in November and commissioned by the NHS England, examined nine studies on Oxevision along with other studies, finding “inadequate evidence” suggesting that inpatient mental health unit surveillance techniques achieve intended results and achieve “improve safety, improved costs, etc.”
Only one of these papers was rated as “high quality” for their methodology and no conflicts of interest were reported. All eight other studies report all conflicts of interest, all related to Oxehealth. In some cases, OxeHealth employees were co-authors of the paper.
“There’s no independent research done. There’s almost always been involvement of the companies that create and market these devices,” said Alan Simpson, professor of mental health nursing who co-authored the review.
The Stop Oxevision campaigner said he was worried about the threat that technology poses to patients’ “safety, privacy and dignity.”
Lionel Tarassenko, professor of electrical engineering at Oxford University and founder of Oxehealth, said Oxevision only intermittently broadcast CCTV footage of patients. This is up to 15 seconds, and if clinical staff respond to alerts, they will only see blurry videos.
Tarassenko Lord said the paper reviewed by the National Institute team showed the benefits of Oxevision, including reduced self-harm, improved patient sleep and safety. He added that it was written by an independent clinician who maintains editorial control and in some cases, OxeHealth co-authors were included to reflect their contributions.
He said: “There is no evidence that proper use of Oxevision technology is a factor that contributes to inpatient deaths. The experience of Oxevision patients is very positive.”
In a statement, the company said the Oxevision platform was NHS England Principles Regarding mental health digital technology, the decision to use technology, announced last month for inpatient treatment and care, said it must be based on consent.
The company said: “Oxevision supports clinical teams to improve patient safety, reduce incidents such as falls and self-harm, and ensure staff can respond more effectively to clinical risks,” he said, adding that it welcomed the dialogue on responsible ethical deployment of technology.
Paul Scott, chief executive of the University of Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), said that his patient’s death was devastating because he was in charge of caring for Hart, Nolan and Alderman, and that his sympathy was sympathetic to those who lost loved ones. He said: “We are constantly focused on providing the best possible care and use remote surveillance technology to enhance safety and complement the treatment care and observations our staff has implemented.”
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “Vision-based surveillance techniques must support a human-based rights approach to care, be used only within the scope of legal requirements, and ensure that patient and family consent is implemented.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health’s Social Care said: “These technologies should only be used in line with robust staff training and appropriate consent, with robust staff training and appropriate consent, and are transforming the care that people facing a mental health crisis receive by modernizing mental health law.
In the latter half of the 18th century, mathematicians and physicists Joseph Lewis Lagrange made a shocking discovery. His star student, Monsieur Le Blanc, was actually a woman.
Lagrange was taught by Ecall Police Technique in France. As a result, students were able to receive lecture notebooks and submit their jobs without going directly to the university. This was especially useful for Sophie Germann, who was forced to study mathematics despite objections from his parents. She picked up the expired student and may have escaped, but Lagrange realized the vast and sudden improvement of Le Blanc's work and demanded that she would meet directly.
Germain is not the only person who pays attention to how the name used is perceived. As the psychologist Kion West explains here, experiments using the same recruitment application belong to white people who belong to blacks. It indicates that it is not more successful than the person who thinks.
In recent years, many organizations have adopted measures to compete with these results, such as deleting names from recruiting applications. These measures fall under the umbrella of diversity, fairness, and inclusion (DEI). But now, US President Donald Trump has ordered government agencies to dismantle the DEI program, promising that society is a “merit base.”
Trump approaches to diversity, fairness, and wrapping are unlikely to create talentedism
Some DEI Initiative are based on stronger evidence than other Initiative. As the resume test shows, the benefits alone are not enough to overcome people's prejudice, but many researchs show it. Anonymous application tends to improve the results In the case of a blessed group. On the other hand, unconscious biastration is a one -time session in the form of a single session aimed at to make employees recognize snap -judgments for people based on races and gender. It turns out that there is almost no difference in changing people's behavior。
The harsh approach to Trump's Day, not evidence, is unlikely to produce his remarkable consequences of his remarkable ability. Instead of developing organizations that are encouraging the best people to prosper, the current efforts seem to promote the culture of fear. Government worker We are warned of “adverse effects” because we did not end DEI work.
Thankfully, Germain did not have such results. Lagrange accepted who she was and defended mathematical development. Nevertheless, she still used Le Blanc's pseudonyms in some communications. The most prominent is that when she discovered her true identity, she has “courage, extraordinary talent, and excellent genius.” If we want to prosper more germen, we must recognize and deal with the barriers they face.
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) captured on December 31, 2024 using the telescope at Rio Hurtado, Chile
lionel magic
A comet that has surprised astronomers could shine as brightly as Venus in the night sky as it passes Earth in the coming days.
Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) was discovered by NASA’s Asteroid Earth Impact Last Alert System more than 600 million kilometers from Earth in April last year. Astronomers initially thought that the comet would not be able to survive in an orbit so close to the Sun, but subsequent observations showed that the comet was following a different path that would allow it to survive, possibly reaching Earth. It has been suggested that it may even be possible to remain unharmed until the approach of
This new orbit, which takes 160,000 years to complete, will mean the comet will snake its way through the solar system, making it visible to stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere. But for the last part of its journey around the sun, people in the northern hemisphere should also be mostly visible through binoculars.
Observations since the new orbit was proposed have shown the comet to be brighter than expected, which could mean it is breaking up as it approaches the sun. However, the latest observations show that the brightness persists and even increases, which would not be the case if the comet disintegrated.
If C/2024 G3 survives, it could appear very bright in the night sky, with some astronomers predicting its brightness could rival that of Venus, making it one of the brightest comets in decades. I’m doing it.
However, the comet’s exact brightness is unknown. It may be far enough away that it reflects the sunlight and is clearly visible, or it may be washed away by the sunlight and become invisible.
Astronomers have also suggested a phenomenon called forward scatter, where dust from the comet makes it appear brighter than normal, but meteorologist Joe Rao said that’s unlikely. space dot com.
If a comet shines brightly, it will probably reach its maximum level around the time of its closest approach to the Sun. The Central Astronomical Telegraph Office, which aggregates observations from astronomers around the world, predicts that this will occur on January 13 at 10:17 a.m. GMT, with the comet’s closest approach to Earth occurring several hours later. are.
This equates to an approximately three-day viewing period from January 12 to 14 for people in the Northern Hemisphere hoping to catch a glimpse of the comet if it’s bright enough. For people in areas such as the United States and Europe, the best time to see the comet is about 30 minutes before sunrise on January 12, when it should be visible through binoculars about 5 degrees from the sun or directly above the horizon. You should get a second chance around 30 minutes after sunset on January 14th.
Be cautious of counterfeit eclipse glasses. A genuine pair should have a silver front lens and a black interior. It should be clearly marked with the manufacturer’s name and address and should not be damaged. Look for the ISO logo and code “IS 12312-2” on the inside as well.
If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can make a DIY pinhole projector using white cardboard or paper, aluminum foil, and a pin. Cut a small square or rectangle in the center of the material, cover it with foil, and create a small hole with a pin. This projector allows you to safely view the sun’s image on a surface.
During a solar eclipse, position a second piece of material as a screen on the ground, hold the projector with the foil facing up, and adjust the distance to change the image size on the screen.
Important things to note when observing a total solar eclipse
Along the path of the eclipse, there are significant moments to witness as the event progresses.
As the sun dims during the eclipse, the surroundings start to darken, creating an eerie atmosphere.
The “diamond ring effect” was demonstrated after a total solar eclipse at Palm Cove in Australia’s tropical north Queensland state in 2012. Greg Wood/AFP – Getty Images File
Stay alert for the “diamond ring effect” as the last sunlight disappears, creating an illuminated halo around the sun and a diamond-like appearance.
As the light diminishes further, the Moon’s rough terrain creates Bailey beads. These small light beads are visible briefly as the remaining sunlight filters through the moon’s surface.
When the moon completely covers the sun, it is safe to remove your eclipse glasses and observe the total solar eclipse directly with the naked eye.
“Ash light” or AL is a faint mysterious glow or hue seen in the night hemisphere of Venus. It is often compared to Earthshine, the reflected light that illuminates the far side of the Moon.
First described by Italian astronomer Giovanni Riccioli in 1643, AL has been observed many times since then, but its faint, ephemeral, and elusive nature has prevented serious research. It’s here.
Even more problematic, AL has so far only been detected by the human eye, and no scientific instruments, either earth-based or space-based, have recorded this phenomenon.
Some authorities have declared this phenomenon to be an illusion, perhaps an eye contrast effect or even an “expectation bias.” Some have suggested that a defect in the equipment could explain the phenomenon. Light scattering, optical aberrations, background sky brightness, weather, etc.
But there are enough reliable reports about AL that some scientists can offer an explanation. These include reflected light from Earth, auroras, “airglow” radiation, lightning, and infrared (thermal) radiation from Venus’ atmosphere.
Most of these explanations are ignored for some reason. However, there is ample evidence that not only ultraviolet light from the sun, but also high-energy solar wind particles can excite oxygen atoms in Venus’ atmosphere.
This creates a pale green glow similar to that seen in the aurora borealis on Earth. However, the process is somewhat different because auroras on Earth are caused by Earth’s magnetic field interacting with solar particles, whereas Venus has no appreciable magnetic field.
It remains to be seen whether this explanation can explain all or some of the AL observations. Therefore, the long-standing mystery of AL may still turn out to be an illusion.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Herman Townsend of Liverpool): “What is Ashen Light?”
If you have any questions, please email us at:questions@sciencefocus.comor send us a messageFacebook,XorInstagramPage (remember to include your name and location).
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Our eyes, with over 100 million light-sensitive cells and some of the fastest muscles in the body, are able to pick up everything from starlight traveling across galaxies to the full range of human emotions. I can.
However, by connecting to our minds through the approximately 1 million nerve fibers that connect each eye to our brains, we are able to synthesize smooth vision that is not distracting or overwhelming, acquire the ability to interpret what is happening around you.
important parts of the human eye
pupil
It looks like a black dot, but it’s actually a gap that allows light to pass through to the back of your eye.
cornea
The cornea, the transparent dome in front of the eye, refracts light and helps direct it along the correct path to the retina.
iris
The colored part of the eye that dilates or constricts the pupil to control how much light enters. The iris is part of a larger structure that forms a layer between the retina and the sclera.
lens
A transparent lens that changes shape to focus incoming light onto the retina.
retina
Although it is often thought of as the back of the eye, it is more accurately the innermost layer that receives light that is reversed by the lens. The retina is packed with light-sensitive cells and nerve cells.
sclera
The sclera, also known as the white of the eye, is a tough, protective outer layer made of collagen fibers.
vitreous body
A transparent jelly that fills the eyeballs. As we age, the consistency of this jelly becomes more liquid and gradually becomes less wobbly.
optic nerve
A thick bundle of nerve fibers that carries signals between each eye and the brain.
How do we see it?
The simplest explanation is that what we see is the result of light entering the eye through the cornea and lens, which directs and focuses the light onto the light-sensitive cells (rods and cones) in the retina. about it.
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