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Lv 5

How far away would we need to be from the Sun to stare at it safely without eye protection?

With New Horizons reaching Pluto this week, it got me thinking about the colonization of the Solar System and I started wondering about this question. Assuming it isn't blocked out by a thick atmosphere, ala Venus, how far would we have to be from the Sun to be able to stare at it without going blind or badly damaging our eyes as on Earth. Would it be safe from Pluto? Saturn? Jupiter? Ceres? Or would you have to be way out in the Oort Cloud or further?

Thanks

5 Answers

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  • RickB
    Lv 7
    6 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Pluto is roughly 30 times farther from the sun than the earth, which means its light is dimmer by a factor of roughly 1000 (by the inverse square law). I'm not an ophthalmologist, but I think that would be safe to look at..

  • 6 years ago

    I'll guess, Pluto is far enough, that only rarely would serious eye damage occur from staring at the Sun for one minute.

  • 6 years ago

    I would say you need to be at least 10 AU away. That's between Saturn (9.58 AU) and Uranus (19.19 AU).

  • ?
    Lv 7
    6 years ago

    You are looking at mere seconds - with retina damage - that can cause blindness - Remember our eyes have lenses in them that is like a magnifying glass - burning a hole in a piece of paper -

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    6 years ago

    At least as far away as saturn or neptune

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