system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why can I see star clusters better when they’re in my peripheral vision?

I oftentimes find that I can see clusters of stars (sometimes just a couple slightly larger ones) better out of the corner of my eye. But tonight I observed what I’m assuming is part of the Milky Way better when not directly looking at it. In fact, when directly looking at it, I really couldn’t make out many stars.

Why might this be?

Edit: this has been super informative, thanks for all the insightful answers!!
gpt
There are 2 types of photoreceptor cells in the eye: rods and cones. Rods are more sensitive to light than cones, and they are more concentrated on the edges of the retina. Thus peripheral vision is more sensitive to faint lights. When you look straight at the stars the light falls on centrally located cones which are less sensitive to light, and you can't make out the stars.