silliest question of the night?

[Pug]

What's best practice? Do you use the same eye all night or give each eye a turn or is it personal preferance and not important?

Thanks for your Patience!

[MarySkater]

My left eye has very poor sight, so to see anything in detail, I must use the right. How many people have eyes exactly the same? I would have thought most would have a preference.

Mary

[Luke]

Interesting question. I almost always use my right eye. My guess is that's because I am right-handed.

[Nillchill]

strangely enough I tend to most use my left eye and I am also right handed, I think it#s what is most comfortable for you.

Each to their own i suppose

[MorningMajor]

Interesting - never even consodered using my left eye - will try next time, could be missing something

Certainly not a silly question, quite thought provoking really

[LukeSkywatcher]

From the first day i got a scope my natural instinct has been to observe with my right eye. I have NO idea why. Maybe my right eye is more dominant.

[John]

I always use my left eye and I'm left handed. I have tried viewing with my right eye and it works but it does not seem right for me somehow.

I guess you could train yourself to be able to use either, or both with a binoviewer of course !.

[brianb]

Right eye ... left eye if taking a quick peek at the moon to avoid losing dark adaptation. But my left eye doesn't see as well as the right one, it has a significant "floater" for a start.

[FraserClarke]

Left eye. Right handed, but it seems my left eye is dominant... (edit: and it seems I'm better at closing my right eyelid -- don't know if that is cause or effect though!)

[JamesF]

I'd guess that most people naturally use their dominant eye and find it more comfortable to do so. I don't think the proportion of the population who don't have a dominant eye is that high, so it wouldn't surprise me if most people had a "preferred" eye for viewing. It doesn't work the same as "handedness" because of the way the visual cortex is wired up to the eyes and it's quite possible to be right eye dominant and left-handed or vice-versa.

James

[jleach29]

Right handed but left eye. I loved reading the answers to this question since I always wondered if I was strange for not using the right eye since I am right handed.

[James4]

I'm right handed, always view with my right eye and when I ocassionally put my left eye to the eyepiece I can see no detail - even though my eyes have approx. the same visual accuity. I've heard the term 'having a trained eye' used to describe an experienced observer, but for me its almost literal; my right is the experienced observer while my left eye is a beginner.

[johninderby]

I'm right handed but always use my left eye for observing. I have much better than average visual acuity in my left eye but a bit worse than average in my right eye.

An optometrist explained to me that no matter if you are right or left handed normally that with any tasks that are visually based you will normally use the hand on the same side as the dominant eye. So in my case while I'm right handed for most things I use left handed golf clubs.

John

[brantuk]

I like using my binoviewers so I can use both eyes. But with a single ep it's allways the right one. However - with the moon I allways switch ocassionally cos of the brightness. Must use a filter more often

(i'm reasonably ambidextrous but have a tendency to be right handed)

[star_chaser]

right handed here use left eye tho never thought of trying the right one

star

[Stu]

Another right hander who uses my left eye, it just feels more comfortable and I think the comments about using the dominant eye are correct. I posted a question a while ago about differences between eyes and got some interesting answers. My right eye shows brighter images but strangely shows less detail on planets because it's almost too bright. I occasionally switch to my right eye if trying to see a faint dso for this reason but it doesn't feel particularly natural

[Sarah]

I have a lazy right eye, but despite my left eye being pretty much ok, my right eye is my dominant eye. I am right handed. I do sometimes switch to the left eye if I am having trouble seeing something or some detail but it feels uncomfortable despite it being better visually.

[Rusty Strings]

Right eye - it is my best eye but also I'm incapable of closing my right eye only without holding it shut, so that doesn't help.

[Mr Spock]

Right handed left eyed...

[vulcan]

Spotting someone who is right or left handed is fairly easy but stand them up straight and ask them to take one step forward and you will find that some people put their left foot forward and some their right - quite independently of whether thay are right or left handed. For eyes, we all have a 'leading' eye which, ignoring obvious eye defects, is determined by the promenent side of the brain we use. Some people are right-brained and some, left-brained. The two halves of the brain generally connect to the eye on the opposite side. So, if you are a 'logical' thinker - chances are you have a prominent left brain and lead with the right eye. 'Creative' thinkers tend to have right brain prominence and lead with their left eye - and are more likely to be left handed too. Of course, there are always exceptions!

[MarySkater]

I have a lifelong squint in my left eye, so my normal state is double vision, but I can ignore the "weaker" image from the left eye. This has one advantage, I can use a telescope with my right eye, without having to close the left one.

[Mikea]

I always use my right eye, although optometrically (is that a real word?), my left eye is slightly better than my right.

[JamesF]

SFor eyes, we all have a 'leading' eye which, ignoring obvious eye defects, is determined by the promenent side of the brain we use. Some people are right-brained and some, left-brained. The two halves of the brain generally connect to the eye on the opposite side. So, if you are a 'logical' thinker - chances are you have a prominent left brain and lead with the right eye. 'Creative' thinkers tend to have right brain prominence and lead with their left eye

I'm pretty sure this is not how it works. Both sides of the brain handle both eyes, but each side processes different parts of the field of vision, as far as I'm aware.

James

[Gerontius]

Left eye

Right handed

Let footed!

[Si W]

Right eye, right handed, right footed, that's got to be right.