Solving Galileo's Visual Illusion

"Scientists have studied a visual illusion first discovered by Galileo Galilei, and found that it occurs because of the surprising way our eyes see lightness and darkness in the world. Their results advance our understanding of how our brains are wired for seeing white versus black objects," according to Medical News Today. "The work was done by Jens Kremkow and collaborators in the laboratories of Jose Manuel Alonso and Qasim Zaidi at the State University of New York College of Optometry. It was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Galileo was puzzled by the fact that the appearance of the planets changed depending on whether one looked with the naked eye versus with a telescope. Viewed directly, planets seemed "expanded" and had 'a radiant crown,' which made Venus look eight to ten times larger than Jupiter even if Jupiter was four times larger." Read more.