Blue field entoptic phenomenon

Simulation of the blue field entoptic phenomenon. Note the size of the bright dots in relation to the hand.
Simulation of the blue field entoptic phenomenon. Note the size of the bright dots in relation to the hand.

The blue field entoptic phenomenon is an entoptic phenomenon characterized by the appearance of tiny bright dots (nicknamed blue-sky sprites) moving quickly along undulating pathways in the visual field, especially when looking into bright blue light such as the sky.[1] The dots are short-lived, visible for about one second or less, and travel short distances along seemingly random, undulating paths. Some of them seem to follow the same path as other dots before them. The dots may appear elongated along the path, like tiny worms. The dots' rate of travel appears to vary in synchrony with the heartbeat: they briefly accelerate at each beat.[2] The dots appear in the central field of view, within 15 degrees from the fixation point.[3] The left and right eye see different, seemingly random, dot patterns; a person viewing through both eyes sees a combination of both left and right visual field disturbances. While seeing the phenomenon, lightly pressing inward on the sides of the eyeballs at the lateral canthus causes the movement to stop being fluid and the dots to move only when the heart beats.

Most people are able to see this phenomenon in the sky, although it is relatively weak in most instances; many will not notice it until asked to pay attention. The dots are highly conspicuous against any monochromatic blue background of a wavelength of around 430 nm in place of the sky. The phenomenon is also known as Scheerer's phenomenon, after the German ophthalmologist Richard Scheerer, who first drew clinical attention to it in 1924.[4]

  1. ^ Scheerer, Richard (1924). "Die entoptische Sichtbarkeit der Blutbewegungen im Auge und ihre klinische Bedeutung". Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde (in German). 73: 67–107.
  2. ^ Riva, C. E.; Petrig, B. (1980). "Blue field entoptic phenomenon and blood velocity in the retinal capillaries". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 70 (10): 1234–38. Bibcode:1980JOSA...70.1234R. doi:10.1364/JOSA.70.001234. PMID 7441396.
  3. ^ Hafez, Ali (2009). "Blue Field Entoptic Simulation". In R. N. Weinreb (ed.). Ocular Blood Flow in Glaucoma. Kugler Publications. p. 27. ISBN 9789062992225.
  4. ^ Blom, J. D. (2010). "B". A Dictionary of Hallucinations. pp. 59–80. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1223-7_2. ISBN 978-1-4419-1222-0.