My 8 year old nephew asked me 'why do stars have circles around them in photos?' and now I can't stop seeing diffraction spikes everywhere

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait wait wait, you're telling me your nephew saw the spikes in the moon photo too? I thought I was going crazy but my 7 year old daughter pointed out the same thing last week on a picture I showed her from a telescope website. She literally asked me "why does the moon have sparkles on it like a princess crown" and I couldn't stop laughing but also I couldn't see what she was talking about for like five minutes. Then once I saw those little bright points around the craters I couldn't unsee them. The kids are seeing something real weird with those photos and I swear it's not just our brains making stuff up.

kim.nina3d ago

Ugh, once you see them you can't unsee them right?! My nephew asked me something similar about a picture of the moon and now I'm obsessed with looking for them in every astro shot online. It's like a hidden pattern that just pops out everywhere once you know what to look for. The little kid questions always end up making you notice the weirdest stuff about the world.

the_rowan3d ago

The moon pics are a good example actually. I've looked at a ton of lunar photos and honestly I think people see what they want to see most of the time. Kids ask those questions because their brains are wired to spot faces and patterns, not because the patterns are actually there.