An opaque body will appear smaller when it is surrounded by a highly
luminous background, and a light body will appear larger when it is
seen against a darker background. This may be seen in the height of
buildings at night, when lightning flashes behind them; it suddenly
seems, when it lightens, as though the height of the building were
diminished. For the same reason such buildings look larger in a
mist, or by night than when the atmosphere is clear and light.