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To change the way you see the Moon, view it from the Sun’s perspective
That the Moon orbits Earth is one of the first and most basic facts most people learn about physics and astronomy. And it’s certainly intuitive enough: Earth’s only natural satellite moves across our sky each night. But, as this short from the YouTube series MinutePhysics details, if you use the Sun as your frame of reference, the truth becomes much more complicated. Explained via a series of nifty whiteboard-style animations, the video uses the Moon’s trajectory through the cosmos to explore broader, perhaps counterintuitive truths about orbital mechanics.
Video by MinutePhysics
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Oceans and water
A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans
5 minutes
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History of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
29 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
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Biology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
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Metaphysics
What do past, present and future mean to a philosopher of time?
55 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators
8 minutes
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Engineering
From simple motors to levitating trains – how design shapes innovation
24 minutes
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Film and visual culture
Our world has very different contours when a millimetre is blown up to a full screen
8 minutes
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Astronomy
The remarkable innovations inspired by our need to know the night sky
5 minutes