Space is smol. Really smol. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely…

November 21, 2015 2:48 PM

Nebulae run through a tilt-shift filter come out looking tiny and adorable and precious.
posted by nebulawindphone (25 comments total)

That first one looks so fluffy and puffy, like you just want to pat it on its little nebula head.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:59 PM on November 21, 2015 [6 favorites]

These make for a very nice desktop! Thanks.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 3:03 PM on November 21, 2015

Neblets are cute.
posted by conic at 3:04 PM on November 21, 2015 [4 favorites]

I am crushing your galaxy!
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 3:10 PM on November 21, 2015 [5 favorites]

OMG did not expect this level of adorable when I clicked but SO ADORABLE GUYS
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:21 PM on November 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's amazing how profound the effect is even when it's just making the top and bottom of a picture blurry.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 3:27 PM on November 21, 2015 [6 favorites]

Squee! I want a pocket universe!
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 3:55 PM on November 21, 2015 [3 favorites]

Gorgeous! I hope this is how the viewscreen works on the new Star Trek.
posted by yesster at 4:17 PM on November 21, 2015

Quite the feat to make something almost unimaginably large seem almost human-scale. The third pic reminded me of hash being cooked, of all things. We are so suggestible.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 4:52 PM on November 21, 2015

The first one is Andromeda. The next few are supernova remnants, and look pretty good. The rest I think could benefit from 50% less of this effect, and would be quite cool.
posted by kiltedtaco at 4:53 PM on November 21, 2015

Who's an adorable gigantic assemblage of stars and other celestial objects? You Are! Oh, Yes, You Are!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:05 PM on November 21, 2015 [8 favorites]

The more I look at the first one, the more convinced I become that it is a kindergarten craft project. Cotton balls and glitter paint. When I go home for Christmas, I'm going to see if my 3 year old niece can make me a galaxy.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:42 PM on November 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Does this work by basically removing some pieces of information or cues that we use to judge scale?
posted by sneebler at 6:06 PM on November 21, 2015

previously
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:28 PM on November 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

As I've said before, there's a clever point to them: that even without this treatment, there's an illusion of smallness to them, considering how big the things actually are and what we can comprehend.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:42 PM on November 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Behance seems to hate Privacy Badger.
posted by symbioid at 6:48 PM on November 21, 2015

OK, finally got to see. Interesting. It certainly does make a macro/micro really contrast with each other. Not sure I like the effect. Maybe this is what it's like for God to look at nebulae.
posted by symbioid at 6:50 PM on November 21, 2015

fwiw pocket universe is a real thing :^)
posted by glass origami robot at 8:27 PM on November 21, 2015

Oh cute! These are really evocative; they remind me of something from my childhood but I can't place what.
posted by threeants at 8:48 PM on November 21, 2015

Molecules, amoebas, jellyfish, galaxies, whatever. You zoom out enough & the galagtic clusters resemble a sponge. From the smallest to the largest structures, it really all remains incomprehensible & this project points that out beautifully.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:54 PM on November 21, 2015

When I went off to college almost thirty years ago, I was put into a dormitory suite with a bunch of stoners. I had never smoked weed before. The first time I partook with them, it wasn't long before I was laying on the floor, completely overwhelmed by a realization that came into my head about "the bigness of the smallness of things."

I've never forgotten that night, or that mind-altering experience, but nothing has ever taken me back to it anywhere near as vividly as these images just did. Duuude.
posted by mammoth at 9:25 PM on November 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

The stuff of life. Space splooge!
posted by markkraft at 11:07 PM on November 21, 2015

D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
posted by duffell at 6:05 AM on November 22, 2015

Awww. I hope I can soon get one of the things I've dreamed of having for a very, very long time.

A huggable Jupiter.
posted by wwwwolf at 7:49 AM on November 22, 2015

Good news, wwwwolf!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 AM on November 22, 2015 [1 favorite]