Thomas W. Conroy, age 11, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for his question:
Does an eclipse also blind the birds?
Sensible people naturally obeyed the warning and averted their eyes from the recent solar eclipse. Many young readers have asked why this precaution was so important. Andy, of course, can answer only one question on the same topic. So please don't be sad or mad if your's was not the one selected. Your answer is included in today's column and you have a chance to ask Andy another million questions.
Newspapers, radio, and TV predicted that the eclipse would happen even when and where it could be seen. They also warned that looking directly at this dramatic solar eclipse could damage and even blind human eyes. Some also explained ways to view the celestial happening without looking directly at it. So all of us were ready and eager to enjoy the experience to the full in safety. Many living within the narrow path of the total eclipse assembled outdoors. Those farther away enjoyed the experience on TV, step by step as it happened. And with every step, someone warned us not to look directly at the dark disk of the moon moving in front of the sun's dazzling face.
These thoughtful warnings were wise and certainly none of Andy's sensible young penpals risked taking a peek. However, perhaps those warnings did not go far enough. Or if they did, they did not stress the point that explains why it is unsafe to stare directly at a solar eclipse. This no doubt is why so many young persons got the idea that the danger has something to do with one of these rare solar eclipses. Actually, this is not so. The danger is always there, every moment the dazzling sun beams down from the sky.
Its bright rays are much too strong for the delicate retina screen of the eye. If they strike directly through the open eye for too long, they can destroy the fragile cells that send sight images to the brain. Naturally, darkness at noon attracts our attention and we feel tempted to look up at the sun, especially since it seems that our eyes do not hurt as much. This is why we were warned not to look directly at the eclipse. As the dark, solid moon covers the dazzling sun, even a slim crescent of its searing rays can blind or partly blind. When there is no eclipse, imagine the risk of looking directly at the full face of the sun.
Humans can warn each other, but many kindly persons worried about the danger to nature's animals. Well, as usual, nature protects them. Birds and other animals live by time schedules. But instead of consulting clocks, they go by nature's daily and seasonal changes. Daylight and darkness announce the day and night periods. When darkness descends during a solar eclipse, they assume it is night time. Scientists have observed their behavior. Robins and other birds that are normally active during the day, retire to their leafy roosts and go to sleep. The strange darkness may trigger owls and other night birds to wake up and take a short prowl. But none of the animals seem to be surprised or curious enough to look up at the sun to see what's going on. Their instinct forbids it.
Those of us who have animal friends know that they can be very curious about lots of things. But unlike people, they do not wonder about events such as night and day, summer and winter, rain and sunshine. They take these things for granted, often using them as signals to do what nature intended. They are not curious about the sun, hence do not feel tempted to look directly at it at any time, even during an eclipse.