Floaters

[AstralTraveller (David)]

My wife has just developed problems with floaters when using our solar scope.

We have had the scope for about 6 months and she has not previously noticed an issue. There was a bit of a hiatus over xmas but I have been taking advantage of the run of fine weather to get the scope out again. However, every time she looks she notices lots of floaters, which persist after viewing but eventually settle down.

She does have issues with her eyes, including floaters, and she has recently had a retinal bleed (which is being monitored by her eye doctor). So we know she has issues but it is not clear why it becomes apparent when using the scope.

Does anyone here have any clues as to what is happening? ATM she doesn't want to use the scope, which is a great pity as there is a lot of activity.

thanks,
David

[taminga16 (Greg)]

David, It has been quite a while since I have worked in the field but my suggestion would be that your Wife speak with an Ophthalmologist.
Greg.

[jamespierce (James)]

I am not a doctor ... but ... As I understand it, we all have some floaters - some more than others. They typically get worse as we get older.

From an astronomy point of view the higher the magnification and smaller the exit pupil they more they are noticeable. For me looking at wide fields, I don't see them at all - once I start to push the limits and get down under the magical 2mm optical exit pupil I see mine a lot - 1mm to 0.5mm it's hard not to see them. I am lucky not to see them during the day and other tasks, my dad isn't so lucky - so I suspect that's my path too long term.

For your wife try an eyepiece combination with a larger exit pupil. Less magnification and / or larger field of view.

[doug mc]

Using two eyes with a binoviewer helps reduce floater influencing your view.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

I wonder if you could also consider more of an EAA setup where you can look at the view on a computer screen / ipad etc instead of through the eyepiece. I wonder if that approach might be a long term solution? One of the reasons that I turned to EAA was aging eyes and not wanting to wear glasses at the eyepiece.

[Startrek (Martin)]

I have a few eye conditions including PVD ( Peripheral Vitrious Detachment ) caused by floaters

My floaters are more noticeable during the day or under bright artificial light ( first noticed a few at age 50 , now age 62 and they are more prevalent)

I see my Ophthalmologist every 18months for thorough testing ( including a test for Glaucoma) and my Optometrist every 18 months to 2 years for a general eye test for specs

Recommend your Wife asks your GP for a referral to an Ophthalmologist

Cheers
Martin

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by floyd_2

I wonder if you could also consider more of an EAA setup where you can look at the view on a computer screen / ipad etc instead of through the eyepiece. I wonder if that approach might be a long term solution? One of the reasons that I turned to EAA was aging eyes and not wanting to wear glasses at the eyepiece.

Agreed. EAA is the way to go, it's all I do now. I have macular degeneration in my right eye, which significantly reduces my field of view, and alters the focal length of that eye. So i can't even do traditional image processing anymore, well maybe with an eye patch. But EAA is so simple, and I have a big screen in my observatory to enjoy it.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Thank you for all the replies. My wife already has an appointment with her specialist as part of the follow up of her cataract operation but it isn't for a little while. She has also just had her eyes checked by an optometrist following a minor bleed.

We know that she has high floater activity. My question was directed to understanding why it's more noticeable when using the solar scope. It seems that the only theory suggested is what I had suspected: a narrow exit pupil means a floater of a given size intercepts a greater fraction of the light and so is more noticeable. I wondered whether the far red wavelength might also be a factor but I can't see why it would be. Perhaps some high magnification lunar viewing is in order .

[jamespierce (James)]

Thinking about it - the sun is relatively quite bright compared to other targets.

I mostly see mine in bright, high contrast and high magnification (small exit pupil) scenarios... Planetary observing comes to mind too. I actually noticed one of my own observing the sun today - have to double check if it was a feature on the surface or a floater.

I wonder if the moon is bright enough to make them not notable given it dominates the field.

[Shasta55 (Chris)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

My wife has just developed problems with floaters when using our solar scope.

How long has your wife had them? I have some in the left eye from a cycling crash about 18 months ago, hardly noticeable now. Then in November 2022 I suddenly had lots of spider web/cracked glass & tiny black specs appear in the center of the right eye (rapid onset is reasonably common). The newer ones were quite a nuisance and very distracting initially. Saw an optometrist immediately both times and he advised they would become less noticeable in time. He was right; they are way less annoying now. Apparently the human brain is very good at compensating. They are noticeable in bright objects but fairly easy for me to ignore. Does your wife notice them at other times apart from observing through a scope? You probably know already; but they are clumps of collagen solidifying in the eye ball fluid.