Contrary to popular belief, bright light cannot harm your eyes. Ultraviolet light can harm your eyes but ultraviolet cannot pass through glass, so staring at the sun or an atomic bomb which provides a ton of ultraviolet light is perfectly safe provided the observer is viewing the object through a glass panel (e.g. a car windshield). Richard Feynman used this knowledge to witness the first test of the atomic bomb in 1944, when no one else would dare to do so. Feynman viewed the detonation while sitting in his vehicle