← Home Postcards from Space
The Same Color Illusion

The Same Color Illusion

Credit & copyright: Edward H. Adelson , Wikipedia

Are square A and B the same color? They are! To verify this, either run your cursor over the image or click here to see them connected. The above illusion , called the same color illusion , illustrates that purely human observations in science may be ambiguous or inaccurate. Even such a seemingly direct perception as relative color. Similar illusions exist on the sky , such as the size of the Moon near the horizon , or the apparent shapes of astronomical objects . The advent of automated, reproducible, measuring devices such as CCDs have made science in general and astronomy in particular less prone to, but not free of, human-biased illusions .

View the original NASA APOD

Want to receive these daily?

Sign up to get a beautiful NASA image delivered to your inbox every morning.

Subscribe Now →