Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Consider These Two Colors For Your Outfit

There is some actual science to this, it turns out.

Digging through your closet looking for the perfect eclipse outfit? Space-themed clothing might seem appropriate, but scientists have another suggestion—wear red and green together.

Wearing those two primary colors side by side can result in a cool science project, according to IFLScience. That's because our eyes will perceive them very differently during the sudden dimming of light on April 8.

We have two kinds of receptors in our eyes that help us see: The cones detect colors and fine details when there's lots of light, and the rods kick in during darkness to help us see movement, blacks, and whites.

When the sky suddenly darkens, both rods and cones start working without any time to adjust. Reds turn much darker, while greens appear brighter. This experience is called the Purkinje effect, named after Czech scientist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, the first to theorize that our eyes have two systems for seeing.

"This Purkinje effect during the coming eclipse will turn the whole experience from just watching the sky go dark to a real-life science demo on your clothes!" a spokesperson from Solar Eyeglasses told IFLScience. "But to really see the changes in color saturation, lots of people need to wear these complimentary red and green colors. Two or five in a group of 100 wouldn’t help."

So to make the effect really dramatic, get your whole group to wear red and green clothing. Unfortunately, though, you can't take pictures to capture the moment. As IFLScience points out, your camera won't experience the same optical illusion.

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