The image shows a star-shaped melanopsin neuron texture. These cells are found in the retina, opposite the photoreceptors. They are located near the blood vessel in the previous photo. In this case, we see them in plane; if we look at the back of the eye, they would be the first cells we could see in the retina.
These cells capture light directly, sending the information through a pathway that runs along the optic nerve to a part of the brain that controls circadian rhythms (day and night). Whales have highly developed cells, so even though they don't see colors well, they do perceive light intensity.
Next to this table, we show another photograph where these cells are superimposed on other neighboring cells that are responsible for sending the visual message from the retina to the brain and are called retinal ganglion cells, which are discussed in the following tables.
