Although the hype about going permanently blind may be a little over-exaggerated, it is no over-exaggeration that the sun puts out a massive amount of energy. Staring at the sun will focus this energy on the back part of your eye called the retina. It’s way too much energy for such a tiny area to handle. Remember when you and your cousin Frank would go out and use a magnifying glass to destroy ants or catch paper on fire? (Oh, you do too!) That’s pretty much what’s going on with your retina- and you won’t feel a thing because retinas have no pain receptors! Big deal you say? It is! The retina sends visual signals to the brain, in effect “telling” the brain what you see. Although there are no reports of people going permanently blind forever, there are reports of various levels of permanent damage from case to case. Seeing as how you only get one pair of eyeballs in this lifetime, there really is no reason to take a chance with your sight!