In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin reported seeing strange streaks, dots and flashes of light inside their spacecraft—even when their eyes were closed. The puzzling phenomenon was later linked to high-energy cosmic rays passing through the astronauts’ visual systems.
The flashes were first reported during the historic Apollo 11 mission. With the spacecraft cabin only dimly lit, the astronauts noticed brief flashes that could not be explained by an external light source.
