The Evolution of Eagle Eyes® Advanced Optic Technology

You may wonder what space has to do with sunglasses, so I have outlined the evolution of the lenses we use in our Eagle Eyes® lenses. Each of our lenses are the result of incredible research performed by two Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers by the names of James Stephens and Charles Miller. I think that you will find the following details fascinating, and they will convince you of the quality of Eagle Eyes® Advanced Optic Technology.

The Space Race Begins

On October 4, 1957, Americans woke up to the news that the Soviet Union had launched an artificial satellite called "Sputnik 1." This satellite circled the earth and transmitted code back to listening stations down below on the earth. Needless to say, this came as a large shock not only to our government, but to American citizens as well.

Soon the Soviets were launching animals and humans into orbit around the earth, 

Thus, the space race began!

The United States then began it's effort to not only put men in space, but to launch and land them on the moon. This effort was known as the Apollo program.

The Effects of Space Radiation on the Eye

Astronauts in the Apollo program, a crewed lunar landing project conducted between 1961 and 1975, noticed flashes of light (phosphenes) in their eyes during deep space missions.

Space studies revealed several problems that affect human biology, such as low gravity, lack of atmosphere, galactic cosmic rays (GCR), and solar energetic particles (SEP).

Microgravity (MG) and space radiation constitute a major part of these problems. Solutions to these and many other problems were necessary to enable human beings to explore the solar system and beyond.

Early Research

Research to find a solution to these issues began at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the late 1960's, with the study of ultraviolet light (which is invisible) and blue light (which is visible) rays.

Two JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) scientists were employed to find a solution for the eye problems experienced by astronauts. The two scientists, James Stephens and Charles Miller, decided to look to nature and study the eyes of birds of prey like eagles and raptors.

These birds had exceptional eyesight and were not only able to see prey at great lengths, but they could even see their prey underwater and elsewhere.

As a result of this research Miller and Stephens discovered that raptors have uniwue, light-filtering oil droplets in their eyes that black harmful radiation while allowing other, more beneficial wavelengths into their eyes. These oil droplets enhance the visual acuity and perception, especially when hunting over water or at great distances.

Inspired by the biological mechanism discovery, JPL's Miller and Stephens replicated the filtering process of the oil droplets by using a system of dyes and tiny particles of zinc oxide to absorb, filter, and scatter damaging light rays.

Enter Sun Tiger

SunTiger is a company founded by Alan Mittleman, and entreprenuer who saw the incredible advantage of this technology in the manufacture of sunglasses for astronauts, pilots, fishermen, and to protect the eyes of everyone who spends time outdoors.

SunTiger licensed this technology and formed the Eagle Eyes® brand which incorporates this technology in all of their products.

You can find a great selection of sunglasses on our website under Eagle Eyes® Sunglasses.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of sunglasses. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this blog, sign up to receive your own weekly blog post here: Subscribe here!

 Keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

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