What is the purpose of using off-center viewing at night?

Using off-center viewing at night is primarily aimed at preventing eye fatigue. When you look directly at a dim light or object at night, your eyes may struggle due to limited available light, which can lead to discomfort and fatigue. By shifting your gaze slightly to the side of the light source or object, you engage the rods in your peripheral vision that are more sensitive to low light levels. This technique allows your eyes to discern objects more effectively in low-light conditions and reduces strain.

While eye fatigue is mitigated through this method, the other options highlight different aspects of visual perception that may not be as relevant to off-center viewing at night. For instance, focusing directly on an object tends to overwhelm the cones that are responsible for color and detail, which is less useful in low light situations. Enhancing color perception does not occur effectively in dark environments, as color vision relies on cone cells that are less active at night. Judging distances also relies heavily on various visual cues that can be diminished in darkness, making off-center viewing mainly beneficial for reducing fatigue rather than improving depth perception or color identification.