Z Side Wins Again

Any time I show my students an astronomy video, I try to keep them aware of when pictures or video are real, and when they’re CGI. Usually, a seasoned eye can recognize the difference, but this amazingly detailed shot of our moon blurs the line in a way I hadn’t felt quite so acutely before now.

…in space, sometimes the Uncanny Valley works backwards.

Part of what I love about astronomy is its visual elegance: most objects, at astronomical distances, are wonderfully simple. The aggregate difference between 8 lanes of rush hour traffic and this is unfathomable. (And even from space, Earth is an unusually flamboyant planet.)