How to experience faster-than-light phenomena 💫 Some things we see in space appear to outpace light. Don’t panic: nothing would be breaking the cast-iron law of physics that rules out anything moving faster than light. It is only an optical illusion. That said, there are real phenomena out there in the cosmos that create similar illusions. Astronomers have long spotted these superluminal illusions, once dismissed as curiosities. But we are now realising some can reveal hidden, surprising detail