averted vision
Looking at a faint object "out of the corner of the eye" - with peripheral vision - in order to detect it more easily.
Averted vision is a technique for viewing faint objects visually which utilizes peripheral vision. It involves not looking directly at the object, but looking a little off to the side, while continuing to concentrate on the object.
Averted vision
The part of your retina that sees detail best, sees low light worst. Look "off to the side" to find lumps in the dark. Many observers use averted vision on faint objects, but not for faint detail in bright ones.
averted vision
a technique that uses the more light-sensitive rods in the eye to better see a faint object by looking at it indirectly
axis ...
averted vision: viewing an object by looking slightly to its side. This technique can help you detect faint objects that are invisible when you stare directly at them.
I'll show you how to find our nearest "star nursery" and teach you a trick (called "averted vision") that helps you see dim objects.
Star Clusters (Check the study guide for this lesson) ...
three different stars of the same magnitude, such as 5.2, 5.2, and 5.2). From my experience, as you approach the limit, the three faintest stars will fall in these categories: i) just visible with direct vision, ii) only visible with averted vision, ...
Inspection of this heavyweight spiral at 48x showed point-like nucleus (with averted vision only) as well as hints of arms. Then a short "starry trail" to the North led me to the large glow of M49 at 11:21pm.
In this activity, look directly at the stars and constellations, rather than looking out of the side of your eye ("averted vision").
When looking through the telescope at a very dim object, try looking around it instead of directly at it. By using averted vision you may be able to see it clearer.
Happy viewing.
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NGC 3631: Large and impressive, this galaxy is roughly circular and 5' in diameter. The core is about 1' in diameter and has a stellar nucleus. Averted vision shows arms spiralling from the north to the east.
 See also: Night, Telescope, Star, Light, Field
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