---
title: "Planetary Scientist’s Video Shows How Slow Light Speed Really Is"
description: "A new animation by JAXA planetary scientist James O'Donoghue shows just how slow the speed of light is on a cosmic scale."
date: "2020-05-18"
modified: "2020-05-18"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-shows-slow-light-speed"
categories:
  - "Physics"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "physics"
  - "space"
  - "speed of light"
  - "the digest"
---

# Planetary Scientist’s Video Shows How Slow Light Speed Really Is

![A new animation by JAXA planetary scientist James O'Donoghue shows just how slow the speed of light is on a cosmic scale.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/video-shows-slow-light-speed.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins for Futurism\</em\>*

## Slow Motion

To us Earth-dwelling humans, the speed of light is so fast that it appears instantaneous.

But zoom out a bit and it becomes clear how even at the speed of light — the theoretical speed limit of the universe, which our spacecraft can't even [begin to approach](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/black-hole-orbiting-sun>) — a journey through the cosmos becomes a snail-paced slog.

That crawl is what James O'Donoghue, a planetary scientist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows [in a cool new animation](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV7q9VrDgBo&feature=youtu.be>).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV7q9VrDgBo&feature=youtu.be

## Take Two

O'Donoghue has shared similar visualizations in the past.

In January 2019, when he was working for NASA, he [released a trio](<https://futurism.com/nasa-animations-light-travel>) of speed of light animations that show how much slower light travels on a cosmic scale.

## Mars Sprint

In the new animation, O'Donoghue started by showing how quickly light blinks past the Earth: a pulse of light emanating from the planet travels off-screen in under a second.

But then he zooms out to show how that same light takes a brief moment to reach the Moon. Zooming out even farther, he then subjects us to about three mind-numbing minutes of waiting for those same pulses of light to reach Mars. Thankfully, he doesn't take us any farther.

**More on the speed of light:** *[New NASA Animations Show How Slowly Light Travels Through Space](<https://futurism.com/nasa-animations-light-travel>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)