Top Seven Reasons Your Eyes are Incredible

Our eyes are amazing examples of biological engineering. They provide a high-resolution view of the world and can adjust focus across a range of distances. We rely upon them the entire day, and expect clear vision at a moment’s notice when waking up for a midnight snack. Our eyes deserve all the recognition we can give them. So let’s take a minute to highlight seven incredible facts about the human eye.

1. Your eyes are recognizable just six weeks after conception. This is even before your toes start to form – not that it’s a competition.


2. The eyes can resolve objects down to about .04 mm wide, about the thickness of a fine strand of human hair. When it comes to eyes, though, size doesn’t matter. They can detect anything - even groups of particles - if they emit enough light.


3. Scientists estimate that humans can perceive up to 1 million shades of color, though we’re limited to the ROYGBIV tones that fall within the visible spectrum.


4. The most distant object visible to the naked eye is the Andromeda Galaxy, located 2.6 million light years away. That’s over 15,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles!


5. Our eyes are extremely good at tracking objects. In fact, from the moment something moves, it takes only 200 milliseconds for your eyes to set their sights on it.


6. The patterns in your iris are one-of-a-kind, and are likely determined by eye movements in the womb. Iris-recognition technology is one form of biometric identification. So, Minority Report-style iris tracking isn’t all that far-fetched, after all.


7. Geneticists believe that blue eyes can be traced back to a single person who lived less than 10,000 years ago. That means people with blue eyes share a common ancestor, making the iris an incredible record of humanity’s genetic past.
8. As amazing as they are, your eyes don’t come with a user manual. That’s why it’s important to schedule regular check-ups with an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Luckily, Eyeconic can help you find an eye doctor.