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eye 'floaters' obscuring planet detail - are my eye's weird?


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Hi,

Looking at Jupiter the last few nights I have found it difficult to tease out detail as I keep getting 'floaters' ( both clear but with borders and grey) from my eye coming across the bright planet.

Never a problem with nebula etc. as they are dark.

I've never seen it mentioned on here. Is this something others find and if so is there any tip or technique to mitigate the effect?

Or are my eyes just weird??

Thanks,

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They are normal, don't worry. Some people get it worse than others. They are a pain when you are trying to spot fine detail.

Binoviewers help mitigate the problem. Now sure why but somehow the brain makes one perfect image from the two eyes, floaters are not a problem.

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You can reduce their impact by using a scope / eyepiece combination that delivers a larger exit pupil. I find them distracting when I use eyepieces less than 4mm in focal length, really distracting at 3mm. I don't notice them at all at 5mm and above.

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This may help as it does for me. When a floater is where you are concentrating on, try a quick glance to either side and usually the floater will then appear a little off to the side as it floats back into view. I do this all the time and it works for me.

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A teacher in school once told us that these floaters are actually projections of your blood cells, running through the veins of your retina (or somewhere else in the eye, I forgot the details). Like looking through a microscope inside your own eyeball.

No idea if this is true, but it would mean that you're seeing a planet and a blood cell at the same time. That puts dimensions in perspective.

But it's indeed a nuisance if you want to see details on Jupiter.

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Does the floater look like something you would see in a microscope? Or do you mean black dots you see when looking at a white sheet of paper in bright sunlight? For both phenomenon I look away and change focus and then resume. Not sure that helps. Maybe I should jump up and down a few times instead!

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Haha, me too, I sometimes see them when I'm looking thru my glasses at a certain angle but when I first started observing I was quite shocked at how prominent they were, but as Mr Q mentioned above, if I look to the side quickly now & again they go away for a short while, very annoying but you get used to them ( Just :smiley: )

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'Oh squiggly line in my eye fluid,

I see you lurking there on the periphery of my vision,

But when I try to look at you, you scurry away,

Are you shy squiggly line,

Why only when I ignore you do you return to the centre of my eye,

Oh squiggly line, it's alright, you are forgiven.

Stewie Griffin.

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Thanks - glad it's normal + special thanks to those who have suggested ways to mitigate. Averting eyes and keeping Exit Pupil large as possible I can try easily.

Binoviewers is interesting - it's not something I know much about other than it increases the cost of this hobby still further. So, a backstop if the others don't help.

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Hey Eastridge,

I have just recovered from having a floater removed from my left eye. Have been out of commission for 4 months as my operation was a difficult one and my recovery has been long and hard as well. Just saw my specialist a month ago and everything is starting to heal, but I have to wear glasses full-time now whereas before my op I didn't need them.

My astronomy was the main reason I had the floater removed in the first place. I have had the floater for about ten years and I have managed to get along with it, but since taking up astronomy, I have found it intolerable as I struggle to see through my eyepiece, so in July I went to see an Opthalmic Surgeon who said they could remove the floater.

All that remains now it to get out with my new scope under dark skies and see if all this pain and suffering has been worth it.

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Hey Eastridge,

I have just recovered from having a floater removed from my left eye. Have been out of commission for 4 months as my operation was a difficult one and my recovery has been long and hard as well. Just saw my specialist a month ago and everything is starting to heal, but I have to wear glasses full-time now whereas before my op I didn't need them.

My astronomy was the main reason I had the floater removed in the first place. I have had the floater for about ten years and I have managed to get along with it, but since taking up astronomy, I have found it intolerable as I struggle to see through my eyepiece, so in July I went to see an Opthalmic Surgeon who said they could remove the floater.

All that remains now it to get out with my new scope under dark skies and see if all this pain and suffering has been worth it.

wow this is scary stuff!! i cant believe i have this, i am diabetic type 1 also so i really need to watch my eyes too :( have not been for an eye check up in over a year now i really must :(

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Yeah,

It was a serious operation and the surgeon virtually took my eyeball apart and re-built it. The floater removal operation is called a vitrectomy and the surgeon had to do a cataract operation at the same time as she said that 90% of people do develop a cataract after a vitrectomy, so I have a false lens in that eye now as well.

I also had to have another op to put silicone oil into my eyeball to aid the healing of my eye, since during my original op the gel in my eyeball was difficult to remove and it caused a few tiny tears on my retina, so the surgeon has to repair the damage by performing some laser surgery.

A month later I had to go back into hospital to have the silicone oil removed and a bubble of air inserted. Over a week the air bubble was absorbed and my eye filled with it's own fluid minus the floater. The actual physical pain was massive and I don't recommend going down the same route if you can't handle it. (everybody has different pain thresholds). Even 4/5 months down the line I am still getting used to things being different and having to wear glasses full time is a real bummer, but the floater is gone now and when I am fully recovered the memory of what I have had to put up with will be in the past.

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