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What Animals Can See Human Glow?

Published in Animal Vision 2 mins read

No animals can see human glow. Humans emit a very faint bioluminescence, but the light produced is far too weak for any animal's eyes to detect. While research has shown that humans do produce a form of bioluminescence, as detailed in this ScienceAlert article, the intensity is far below the threshold of human perception and, by extension, the perception of other animals. The light emitted is not bright enough for the human eye or the eyes of any known animal to register.

Several sources confirm this: Flexi Says explicitly states that "Humans do not naturally exhibit bioluminescence...Therefore, no animals are able to see human bioluminescence." Numerous Reddit discussions (example) also highlight the minimal intensity of human bioluminescence and question whether any animals could see it. The consensus across these sources is that the light is simply too faint.

While some animals possess exceptional night vision, like cats (NBC News article), this enhanced vision pertains to the reflection of light, not the detection of the extremely low levels of bioluminescence produced by humans. The tapetum lucidum, which gives cats their eye shine, (Carnegie Museum of Natural History) does not enable them to see human bioluminescence. Even animals that can perceive different wavelengths of light than humans (Oklahoma Aquarium) are still unable to perceive the faint human glow.

In short, although humans emit a measurable amount of bioluminescence, it is undetectable by the eyes of any known animal.

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