The Vista paradox, sometimes colloquially referred to as the Sydney Opera House illusion, is a natural optical illusion where an object seen through an aperture (such as a window) appears to shrink in apparent size as the observer approaches the aperture. The paradox takes place when the distant object that seems to be shrinking or enlarging as its visual angle respectively increases or decreases is many times further away than the maximum distance between the observer and the aperture.
See also Depth perception Forced perspective Perceived visual angle Perspective distortion (photography)
References
External links Media related to Vista paradox at Wikimedia Commons