Talk:1125: Objects In Mirror

Anyone else think that the smallness of this comic is unusual? I can barely read the mirror. TheHYPO (talk) 14:41, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. The key part of the "punchline" is the word "bluer", and it's really hard to read. 67.51.59.66 18:43, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

The drawing has a different feel too. It seems to have been done with a pressure sensitive pen. Maybe Randall is trying out a new method. A galaxy note maybe? Fanboix (talk) 19:40, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Text on the mirror is larger than it appears.

It's probably from the viewpoint of the driver.--Jimmy C (talk) 16:49, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

I think title text refers to the expansion of the universe and the speed of light. The observable universe is viewed from light that originated in the past. The further away the object, the further back in time we observe it. In an expanding universe, the universe we observe today is actually how it looked in the past (smaller) and we are unable to observe it's present size (larger) due to the great distances and the time it takes for the light to arrive. Thus, the universe is larger than it appears, no matter if you view it traveling towards or away from any object. --Bpiltz (talk) 15:47, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

If the object in the mirror were another car overtaking this one, it would actually be redder than it appears. --Prooffreader (talk) 17:51, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

My first thought was that the title text refers to the fact that objects appear to be in different directions, as well as colors, from a moving viewpoint. So objects in front of a moving car will appear to be closer together than if the car were stopped. See http://www.fourmilab.ch/cship/aberration.html But objects seen in the rear-view mirror will appear more spread out, so maybe not.
75.36.234.236 18:58, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Naw, you're thinking too much about this. Randall is just commenting that the universe, (as visible through the relatively small aperature of a windshield or mirror) is much bigger than it appears in either viewport. "There are more things in heaven and earth than are visible through your view-portal, Horatio!" (to paraphrase the Bard.) If that's what he was trying to say in Click and Drag, too, so be it. -- 207.225.239.130 21:44, 24 October 2012 (UTC)