![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/NGC6397.jpg/640px-NGC6397.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Diffraction spike
Lines radiating from bright light sources in photographs / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diffraction spikes are lines radiating from bright light sources, causing what is known as the starburst effect[1] or sunstars[2] in photographs and in vision. They are artifacts caused by light diffracting around the support vanes of the secondary mirror in reflecting telescopes, or edges of non-circular camera apertures, and around eyelashes and eyelids in the eye.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/NGC6397.jpg/640px-NGC6397.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/FOFC8ZPX0AIB-Ho.png/640px-FOFC8ZPX0AIB-Ho.png)
While similar in appearance, this is a different effect to "vertical smear" or "blooming" that appears when bright light sources are captured by a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor.