(meteorobs) Obs: 17 & 18 April 2010

[Norman W. McLeod III]

>
>I am having increasing difficulty with "clouds" of floaters, which 
>was especially obvious when I was looking at the conjunction of 
>Venus and Mercury thru binoculars earlier in the month.  I've had 
>floaters since I was a teenager, and they have been gradually 
>becoming more numerous and now cause problems just doing normal 
>things, let alone meteor observing.  I rarely bother to look thru a 
>telescope any more because mostly I just see floaters.

Might be a coming retinal detachment.  I would get an eye exam 
immediately.  This happened to my late wife in 2004, and I was asleep 
at the switch.  From the time she first complained of numerous 
floaters, the retina detached only 6 weeks later.

Having a few floaters is normal at any age.  I saw them against the 
cobalt sky over Miami when I was only 2, but of course I didn't know 
what they were.

Norman