Rocket reads a tiny label on his gadget, nose almost touching it. Then he looks out the window at a far tree.
"Both look sharp," he says. "How does my eye switch?"
Raven tries it too. "What do you notice when you look near, then far?"
Nova dims her light. "Something inside your eye changes shape," she says. "Can you feel it?"
After light goes through the pupil, it hits the lens.
The lens sits behind the iris. It is clear and has no color.
The lens focuses light on the back of the eye. That back part is the retina.
It works a bit like a projector, focusing a picture on a screen.
In the eye, the screen is the retina.
A muscle called the ciliary (say: SIL-ee-air-ee) body holds the lens.
It can change the shape of the lens, right inside your eye!
When you look at things up close, the lens gets thicker.
When you look at things far away, the lens gets thinner.
You do not feel it happen. It works all by itself.
Behind the lens is a clear jelly called vitreous humor (say: VIH-tree-us).
This jelly fills most of the eye and gives it its round shape.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The lens focuses light on the retina. | ? |
| The lens is the colored part of the eye. | ? |
| The ciliary body changes the shape of the lens. | ? |
| Clear jelly gives the eye its shape. | ? |
You focused like a scientist! Tomorrow we explore the retina and its millions of light catchers.