What is the Purkinje effect and why does it cause colors to change during a solar eclipse? – 2024-07-19 21:48:43

by times news cr

2024-07-19 21:48:43

However, there is something that can happen during this eclipse, a phenomenon known to scientists as the effect ‘Purkinje’which causes the colors to change during this astronomical phenomenon.

What is the ‘Purkinje’ effect that makes colors change during a solar eclipse?

According to the scientific journal specialized in this type of phenomena ‘Scientific American’The effect ‘Purkinje’ This is a visual oddity in which people may experience a natural shift in color perception.

What would cause a “fluctuation of light levels”, which would cause, among other things, colors like orange and red, which in bright light are usually rich and vibrant to the human eye, to become dark or dull.

On the other hand, colors such as violet, green and even blue are perceived as bright colors under the same conditions.

Jay Neitz, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington, explained that: “Rods and cones do not have separate signal pathways to the brain (…) So information from both converges on the same set of fibers that are linked to our brain and we end up with competing signals in the mesopic period.”

The expert pointed out that this is because the retina of the human eye has three types of color-sensing cones: red, green and blueso the combinations of these cones “They allow us to see all the colours of the rainbow in broad daylight. But in the mesopic period, the signals from the red cones (which detect longer, reddish wavelengths of light) are lost.”

“While the shorter wavelengths detected by the green and blue cones persist. That is why the greens and blues are so remarkably vibrant during twilight and a solar eclipse.”he added.

Neitz stressed that at the peak of sensitivity “of our rods” There is a wavelength that “it looks cyan or the color of the ocean”a color that “It really comes through and makes it the most beautiful during a solar eclipse.”

Unlike humans, the effect ‘Purkinje’ The eclipse can become more intense, as is the case for birds, while dogs may lose hallucinatory visual changes due to “retinas contain only two types of cones: blue and yellow.”

So the professor of ophthalmology at the University of Washington believes that humans “They should have fun and play with colors during the April eclipse”this because “It is a rare occasion when sunlight dims and brightens so rapidly that the Purkinje effect becomes clear.”

“Every day it goes from bright outside to dark at night in a period of a couple of hours.”Neitz said.

In addition to “We are usually busy when that happens, and it is so gradual that our rods have already begun to adjust, so we hardly notice that something amazing is happening. During a [eclipse solar total]you can witness this fantastic transition from photopic to mesopic to scotopic and vice versa.”

The phenomenon will be visible in the United States and Canada. However, Mexico will be the country with the best conditions to observe it.

Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, known as the “Pacific’s pearl”will be the perfect setting to witness the natural phenomenon that will attract thousands of people.

The eclipse will begin in the port of Mazatlán at 9:51:23 a.m. local time. The total phase will begin at 11:07:25 a.m. and end at 11:11:45 a.m., while the eclipse in its entirety will end at 12:32:09 p.m.

These are the territories of these states that will have a better view of the phenomenon: Concordia, Sinaloa; Mapipi, Durango; Canatlan, Durango; Muzquiz, Coahuila; Mazatlan, Sinaloa; Morelos, Coahuila.

You may also like

Leave a Comment