somewhat related, I was so glad when I found out the reason behind a dim bulb that's just turned off appearing brighter when _you look away_. The answer is in

somewhat related, I was so glad when I found out the reason behind a dim bulb that's just turned off appearing brighter when _you look away_. The answer is in the density of rod cells (which are photon receptors of the eye that specialize in low-light) are concentrated on the outer edges of the retina. So if you look straight at a dim bulb - the photons hit the cone cells, which aren't sensitive enough, but if you look away, the photons hit the rod cells and you can see the bulb!