Astronomy:Sungazing

Short description: Staring directly at the Sun

A man sungazing

Sungazing is the unsafe practice of looking directly at the Sun. It is sometimes done as part of a spiritual or religious practice, most often near dawn or dusk. The human eye is very sensitive, and exposure to direct sunlight can lead to solar retinopathy, pterygium, cataracts, and often blindness. Studies have shown that even when viewing a solar eclipse the eye can still be exposed to harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Movements

Referred to as sunning by William Horatio Bates as one of a series of exercises included in his Bates method, it became a popular form of alternative therapy in the early 20th century. His methods were widely debated at the time but ultimately discredited for lack of scientific rigor. The British Medical Journal reported in 1967 that "Bates (1920) advocated prolonged sun-gazing as the treatment of myopia, with disastrous results".

See also

• Inedia (breatharianism)
• Joseph Plateau

External links

• San Diego State University Dept. of Astronomy information on solar observation safety