Floaters

[Dave scutt]

It seems I have floaters it seems bad when looking at the moon during the day.

Would different ep's make a difference or will it always be bad.

Dave 

[globular]

Floaters are usually worse at higher magnification and less troublesome at lower magnification.  (It's actually exit pupil size, not magnification, but for a given scope they move together).

I find binoviewers help a lot / get rid of the problem. The way I think of it - the part of the image blocked by a floater in one eye will be compensated by the other eye not being blocked in the same place at the same time.

I now use binoviewers exclusively for high mag stuff (exit pupil less than 1mm or so) and single eyepiece for low power / deep sky stuff (exit pupil larger than 1 or 2 mm). 

[Peter Drew]

Usually age related and one of the annoying things you have to put up with.  There are medical interventions to mitigate the problem but these are not pleasant apparently.  Using binoviewers seems to reduce the impact, if there is one particularly bad one in the centre of your fov, looking to the side and then quickly looking forward again can displace the floater for a couple of seconds before it floats back.      🙂

[Gonariu]

I have the same problem and I see a little bit of it too. I live with it with a little patience, it's just an annoying thing but I can always enjoy the view of the Moon at X300 when the seeing allows it.

[rl]

Floaters are a great excuse to buy a big scope just to keep the exit pupil large at high magnification....

More seriously, if your floaters have suddenly changed in some way then maybe consider seeing an optician; I'm glad I did. Sudden bouts of floaters can be down to a retinal tear.

[Don Pensack]

Floaters are small agglomerations of protein in the vitreous humor.  They are often transitory, though some large ones can be permanent.

Sometimes they drift down to the bottom of the eye, but most of the time they do not.

There are multiple causes, so it is always wise to have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist at least every 2 years, and annually if past 70.

 

The only long-term cure is to remove the vitreous humor in the eye and replace it with fluid.  This can lead to cataracts in the lens almost immediately, so it is typically done

only after lens replacement surgery in the eye.  Vitrectomy is not recommended for severe myopes, as it increases the risk of retinal separation, already a high risk for myopes. 

 

Floaters are usually only a problem with small (<1mm) exit pupils.

Personally, I cannot use exit pupils below 0.65mm without serious issues when viewing the Moon or planets. 

 

There is another issue that can cause degradation of small exit pupil viewing, too.

It's MDF Dystrophy, or map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, which is caused by dry eyes.  

The cornea gets grooves in it from blinking, or wrinkles due to friction with the eyelid, or gets small particles imbedded.

It can be mitigated by using eyedrops to lubricate the eye.  The cornea self-heals over a week or so of eyedrop treatment.

We are, as astronomers, more prone to it due to long periods of staring with eyes open, so we are more likely to have dry eyes.

At very small exit pupils, this can cause the image to resemble a pointillist painting or have lines in it.

 

Face it, the "wetware" has as many problems (maybe more) than the hardware. LOL.

[VNA]

Hello, make sure it is "nothing" more than floaters, I just posted another possibility on another thread:

 

AMD is age related macular degeneration, there is a simple free test right on your computer screen to check wether you have that condition:

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/facts-about-amsler-grid-daily-vision-test

Go see an ophthalmologist.

[Roy Challen]

12 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

 

The cornea gets grooves in it from blinking, or wrinkles due to friction with the eyelid, or gets small particles imbedded.

It can be mitigated by using eyedrops to lubricate the eye.  The cornea self-heals over a week or so of eyedrop treatment.

We are, as astronomers, more prone to it due to long periods of staring with eyes open, so we are more likely to have dry eyes.

At very small exit pupils, this can cause the image to resemble a pointillist painting or have lines in it.

 

Face it, the "wetware" has as many problems (maybe more) than the hardware. LOL.

Yes, as someone who has corneal abrasion every now and then I find it really helps to apply one drop of eye lube before observing. Also, mild blepharitis (blocked tear ducts) can be mitigated by a warm compress to open up the tear ducts thereby helping to lubricate the eyes. 

[JonathanDyer]

On 24/08/2024 at 23:13, Don Pensack said:

Floaters are small agglomerations of protein in the vitreous humor.  They are often transitory, though some large ones can be permanent.

Sometimes they drift down to the bottom of the eye, but most of the time they do not.

There are multiple causes, so it is always wise to have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist at least every 2 years, and annually if past 70.

 

The only long-term cure is to remove the vitreous humor in the eye and replace it with fluid.  This can lead to cataracts in the lens almost immediately, so it is typically done

only after lens replacement surgery in the eye.  Vitrectomy is not recommended for severe myopes, as it increases the risk of retinal separation, already a high risk for myopes. 

 

Floaters are usually only a problem with small (<1mm) exit pupils.

Personally, I cannot use exit pupils below 0.65mm without serious issues when viewing the Moon or planets. 

 

There is another issue that can cause degradation of small exit pupil viewing, too.

It's MDF Dystrophy, or map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, which is caused by dry eyes.  

The cornea gets grooves in it from blinking, or wrinkles due to friction with the eyelid, or gets small particles imbedded.

It can be mitigated by using eyedrops to lubricate the eye.  The cornea self-heals over a week or so of eyedrop treatment.

We are, as astronomers, more prone to it due to long periods of staring with eyes open, so we are more likely to have dry eyes.

At very small exit pupils, this can cause the image to resemble a pointillist painting or have lines in it.

 

Face it, the "wetware" has as many problems (maybe more) than the hardware. LOL.

I feel you

Edited September 18 by JonathanDyer

[iantaylor2uk]

On 24/08/2024 at 18:43, Don Pensack said:

Floaters are small agglomerations of protein in the vitreous humor.  They are often transitory, though some large ones can be permanent.

Sometimes they drift down to the bottom of the eye, but most of the time they do not.

There are multiple causes, so it is always wise to have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist at least every 2 years, and annually if past 70.

 

The only long-term cure is to remove the vitreous humor in the eye and replace it with fluid.  This can lead to cataracts in the lens almost immediately, so it is typically done

only after lens replacement surgery in the eye.  Vitrectomy is not recommended for severe myopes, as it increases the risk of retinal separation, already a high risk for myopes. 

 

Floaters are usually only a problem with small (<1mm) exit pupils.

Personally, I cannot use exit pupils below 0.65mm without serious issues when viewing the Moon or planets. 

 

There is another issue that can cause degradation of small exit pupil viewing, too.

It's MDF Dystrophy, or map-dot-fingerprint dystrophy, which is caused by dry eyes.  

The cornea gets grooves in it from blinking, or wrinkles due to friction with the eyelid, or gets small particles imbedded.

It can be mitigated by using eyedrops to lubricate the eye.  The cornea self-heals over a week or so of eyedrop treatment.

We are, as astronomers, more prone to it due to long periods of staring with eyes open, so we are more likely to have dry eyes.

At very small exit pupils, this can cause the image to resemble a pointillist painting or have lines in it.

 

Face it, the "wetware" has as many problems (maybe more) than the hardware. LOL.

I was recently diagnosed with an epiretinal membrane in my right eye (luckily my left eye is fine) - this where the macular degradation products of the eye effectively form scar tissue on the retina, distorting it and making vision blurry and distorted. I am also quite short sighted (contact lens prescription is -6.50). However, despite this, the hospital opthalmologists recommended a vitrectomy, followed by peeling off of the epiretinal membrane. Because of the risk of developing cataracts after retinal surgery, they also replaced the lens in my eye (with a corrective vision one). The whole operation took about an hour, and I had it a couple of days ago. It was all done under local anaesthetic so I was awake for the operation, although it was relatively painless. They put an air bubble in my eye, which will take about 7 days to dissolve, after which the sight in the eye should improve gradually over the next 3-4 weeks. I also only had to wait six weeks or so for the operation which I was very pleased with. 

Hopefully I will be out observing again in a month or so. 

[Louis D]

Thanks for taking one for the team. 

I have a feeling I'll be needing this done in the next decade.  I've already got a detached vitreous humor causing minor issues (black specks in my vision).  Until it gets bad, I'll probably hold off getting an operation.

Keep us updated with how your recovery is coming along.

[Saganite]

Thanks for that information Ian. 

I was diagnosed two years ago with an epiretinal membrane in my left eye and at a recent eye test it had not worsened significantly, however, as you know, it is quite impossible to achieve a sharp focus.  I am right eye dominant for observing, but I have used binoviewers as my preferred observing method for the last decade and that remains acceptable.  I do now find it a bit irritating though and I do have a lot of floaters,  so I will speak with my optician about it.

 

Steve

[Don Pensack]

12 hours ago, iantaylor2uk said:

I was recently diagnosed with an epiretinal membrane in my right eye (luckily my left eye is fine) - this where the macular degradation products of the eye effectively form scar tissue on the retina, distorting it and making vision blurry and distorted. I am also quite short sighted (contact lens prescription is -6.50). However, despite this, the hospital opthalmologists recommended a vitrectomy, followed by peeling off of the epiretinal membrane. Because of the risk of developing cataracts after retinal surgery, they also replaced the lens in my eye (with a corrective vision one). The whole operation took about an hour, and I had it a couple of days ago. It was all done under local anaesthetic so I was awake for the operation, although it was relatively painless. They put an air bubble in my eye, which will take about 7 days to dissolve, after which the sight in the eye should improve gradually over the next 3-4 weeks. I also only had to wait six weeks or so for the operation which I was very pleased with. 

Hopefully I will be out observing again in a month or so. 

Please keep us posted on your recovery.

Best wishes,

Don

[Mr Spock]

I have retinopathy in both eyes and maculopathy in my right. All due to being diabetic.

I observe with my left eye and there is a permanent string of floaters across the middle. Strangely if I move my eye upwards a little in the eyepiece the floaters appear to shift slightly downwards and I get a sharp view.