Moore's lightning streaks are

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

type streaks (

photopsia Photopsia is the presence of perceived flashes of light in the field of vision. It is most commonly associated with: * posterior vitreous detachment * migraine aura (ocular migraine / retinal migraine) * migraine aura without headache * sc ...

) (seen to the

temporal Temporal may refer to: Entertainment * Temporal (band), an Australian metal band * ''Temporal'' (Radio Tarifa album), 1997 * ''Temporal'' (Love Spirals Downwards album), 2000 * ''Temporal'' (Isis album), 2012 * ''Temporal'' (video game), a 200 ...

side) due to sudden head or eye movement in the dark. They are generally caused by

shock waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

in the

vitreous humor The vitreous body (''vitreous'' meaning "glass-like"; , ) is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eyeball (the vitreous chamber) in humans and other vertebrates. It is often referred to as the vitreous humo ...

hitting the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

or traction on the retina from fibers in the

. The implication is that the vitreous is softer than normal, generally this is not a cause for alarm provided they are momentary, occur only in the dark, are due to sudden head movements (

acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...

) and do not occur along with many new tiny black floating specks in the vision. Professional advice should be sought in cases of doubt, as retinal detachment, a serious condition, also can cause flashes in the eye. They are named after Robert Foster Moore (1878–1963), a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

References

* Moore R: Subjective lightning flashes. Am J Ophthalmol 23: 1255, 1940 * Verhoeff FH. "Are Moore's lightning streaks of serious portent?" Am J Ophthalmol. 1956 May;41(5):837–40. . Eye diseases Visual disturbances and blindness {{eye-stub