While playing with my camera, I decided to take a closeup of my eye. When we talk about eye color, we are talking about the color of the iris, the part of the eye that opens and closes the pupil. Eye color varies quite a bit, ranging from blue to green to brown to grey. How many different pigments are there for eye color?
Answer:
By far, the most common pigment in our eyes is melanin. It is a brown pigment, but also plays a role in grey, green, and hazel eyes. Lipochrome, a less common pigment is thought to be present for people who have amber colored eyes. Human eyes do not contain any pigments that are blue or green. Those colors are produced by a combination of melanin absorbing some colors, and tissue in the eye scattering some of the light, similar to the scattering that causes the sky to look blue.
The pattern in your iris is unique, and is starting to be used for identification purposes. It does not require contact, as fingerprints do, or bright lights, as with retinal scanning. The current challenge is that your iris shifts as it opens and closes your pupil, but new software advances are making it easier.
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