Phosphenes, "The Prisoner's Cinema."

Have you ever "seen stars?" Well, you were looking at Phosphenes.

You can see them when you rub your eyes, fall asleep, get knocked in the head, meditate, or get dizzy. You experience light, without said light actually entering your eye.

PHOTO BY: LA WHIMSY

Art, poetry, and science have explored this phenomenon for centuries.

PHOTO BY: JOE PEREZ - ABSTRACT DEPICTION OF PHOSPHENES.

It is supposed that many early cave drawings imitate the luminous forms seen behind the eyes: hash-tags, spirals, radials, waves, circles, dots.

IMAGE BY: FRED THOMASELLI - INSPIRED BY PHOSPHENES

The Greeks took them as evidence that light was created by the eyes.

PHOSPHENE-REFERENCING SHAPES

Isaac Newton detailed the phenomena of gently pressing on the eye to produce a circle of light.

PHOSPHENE-RELATED ART BY YOSHI SODEOKA

Phosphenes have been electrically stimulated in recent studies to allow blind people to see braille dots.

BRAILLE ALPHABET

Though mostly normal, phosphenes can also be an indication of eye trouble, such as an inflamed optic nerve or retinal detachment. If you experience flashes that are unusual or distracting, call your ophthalmologist right away.