Mario Galaxy's impossible mystery

Mario Galaxy has a big mystery on its title screen: the galaxy within the game's logo - where did that image come from? It took 14 years, but now the answer has finally been revealed!
PATREON - / thomasgamedocs
TWITTER - / thomasgdocs
Captain Byte's Twitter! / cometmedal
MUSIC
All music via Epidemic Sound

[@ThomasGameDocs]

i'm so tired. here's my twitter: twitter.com/thomasgdocs

[@boomerloomer2825]

e

[@That_Black_Nerd]

I don’t have Twitter

[@BILLFOSTAR]

Yooo thomas

[@starlite5154]

are you okay

[@TryingToBeHooman]

This is the new pack png project

[@cracklasco]

Not ONCE have I ever noticed the galaxy in the damn Galaxy logo.

[@Vextrove]

Same! 😂 It's not really relevant.

[@kamilradzikowski1663]

same

[@lapisrabbitcomics]

@@Vextrove I couldn't agree more. Especially how thomas tries to hype it up like "the greatest mario galaxy mystery" Yeah no. Like a lot of people, they didn't even really notice there was a galaxy in the logo.

[@Vextrove]

@@Gamxin I'm glad to not be bothered by insignificant things :P

[@tristenj1992]

Lmao same. The video was still interesting but I literally never once thought about that one texture in the logo

[@2suomalaista]

This just reminds me of the whole Minecraft pack.png search

[@MatiEP09]

Yup

[@okel5674]

honestly

[@ShadowStray_]

Ikr

[@Kat21]

yeah

[@Rafelandroid2]

yes

[@shuumatsunojoshua]

Finally, we can now call this Galaxy the Mario Galaxy.

[@haku8193]

impoasible

[@haku8193]

Impossue

[@haku8193]

Iamb

[@haku8193]

Impossibe

[@haku8193]

Impoasible

[@Rajada64]

Fun Fact: Dorfdork is the leader of the Render96 project, which consists of making Super Mario 64 as faithful as possible to the promotional art. He is also responsible for finding the origin of several textures used in Super Mario 64.

[@ciennaquidd6486]

I could of sworn he had talked about this already months ago too

[@DarktheEagle]

This is very true. He works hella hard on the project, as does everyone behind Render96. It's a project I'm lucky to be a part of, if only in a small way~

[@rapappathepepper3996]

i think he knows already about this, and same to me, when i tough about this discovery i imeditially tought about that

[@SammEater]

That one project gets hyped while at the same time being worried. Announcing your project before its complete just creates a window for Nintendo to send their C&D letters.

[@masoncrowley7862]

Great insight.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

One thing's not a mystery the soundtrack of that game is a masterpiece. You can't help but vibe to the Comet Observatory. A beautiful piece of our childhoods

[@CasualSunGod42]

I agree with you, person who is not Kim Jong-un's alt account!

[@KokKeeYap]

@@CasualSunGod42 Playing this game at 28 years old, the beauty of the soundtrack transcends across generations.

[@MarioGotMilk-Remake]

why didn't you mention Staff-Roll/The Main Theme

[@CasualSunGod42]

@@KokKeeYap Yeah I agree! -It's just that this guy may or may not run the other account-

[@Haj_Otter]

Battle rock galaxy is an amazing track

[@CosmicNyan]

"Super Mario Galaxy came out in 2007" Me: *suddenly ages 20 years*

[@cattoneclipse5815]

So, you were born in 2000 or 2001, right?

[@CosmicNyan]

@@cattoneclipse5815 no i just thought it would be funni :v

[@kleann]

deez

[@HollowM0th]

@@kleann nuts

[@kleann]

@@HollowM0th humorous

[@blakethesimms]

This is the coolest thing I didn't care about

[@antonsopanen]

Bröd

[@1degabyte238]

Bröd

[@jaaf8007]

Bröd

[@Thirty-Percent]

Bröd

[@mirroredarmy]

Bröd?

[@SuperWiiBros08]

That's amazing But you never questioned the little planets in it, I guess they haven't been found yet

[@Cuul-i-guess]

well you are correct

[@CometMedal]

@@Cuul-i-guess Incorrect, actually! The planets HAVE been found; they're from the same Sozaijiten album. Cheers!

[@kitma9]

@@CometMedal the man the myth himself

[@CometMedal]

@@kitma9

[@jak3w]

Datacraft Sozaijiten Vol.21 SVO79.

[@omori2391]

7:01 "Vegetables" *Proceeds to show Apples, Oranges, and Cherries.*

[@godsunit]

Ikr😂

[@Mr.Sneeze]

Beat me to it

[@leonardorosado9247]

I thought the same thing 😂😂

[@LimeLoaf]

@@Mr.Sneeze beet me to it

[@Mr.Sneeze]

@@LimeLoaf Shoulda thought of that, nice one

[@mihf772]

literally all these videos make me say: "dang that's interesting as heck"

[@Liggliluff]

Maybe his videos should be posted on Reddit r/InterestingAsFuck, since that would help him get a larger audience

[@mihf772]

@@Liggliluff mmmmmm yeah that would :D

[@metallicfingers]

Mans really good at making video titles

[@IthinkmynamesAria]

Meeee atooo

[@naryosh_]

Imagine a photograph you took as an astronomer ending up in a _video game_ of all things 48 years later. What a legacy. And 14 years after your photo reappears, people finally realize when you took it.

[@SafeRemain]

he's in the grave now

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Answering the questions we didn't even know we needed the answers to humanity is lucky I invented space, composed the SMG soundtracks, and made the Moon out of cheese

[@kingcatmemes]

Thanks Kim

[@NoxmilesDe]

42

[@GoodlyPenguin]

Thank you Kim Jong-Un for inventing space! And thank you for treating your people with respect. We love you. XOXO. Hug hug. Kiss kiss

[@its_aj251]

All hail our glorious Emperor!! Kim Jong-un!!!!!!

[@gollygeewillikers]

i see you everywhere, kim

[@SueZQue83]

I love how you’ve been Answering questions nobody asked for since 2018

[@BigOlSmellyFlashlight]

i aske

[@jak3w]

Tons of people asked, that's how he got the answer in the first place

[@kidkruschev]

@@jak3w not tons, but enough to warrant a video that a mass audience will find passively interesting

[@jetstreamjackie3437]

aww, what a heartwarming story. glad CaptainByte was able to solve the mystery!!

[@CometMedal]

Thank you so much!

[@eebu4053]

I'm oldar than mario galaxy

[@TreeckoBean]

@@CometMedal I’ve seen you on twitter before, but I had no idea you did things like this! Def dropping a follow, keep up the good work!

[@CometMedal]

@@eebu4053 Me too!

[@CometMedal]

@@TreeckoBean Much appreciated! I do a lot of stuff like this, so I hope you continue to enjoy it!

[@bassrecord6139]

lmao when you read the letters with the shining stars u get "ur mr gay"

[@crab-yt2wy]

@Mertanian omg same

[@bassrecord6139]

@A Shitbag69 don't care, didn't ask and yes.

[@squishranger]

@@bassrecord6139 i think they're making a joke on the letters in super mario galaxy 2 saying "u r mi ay" which backwords is "ya im, r u?"

[@bassrecord6139]

@@squishranger ah alr lmao

[@bassrecord6139]

guess it's time to get ready for r/woosh

[@nicocurreri9805]

This feels like a secondhand Nick Robinson video it’s wild

[@jizn_]

Nick and Tom would get along

[@Ralofguy]

only a guy like nick can go to japan just to solve some mystery

[@peribow8145]

nick robinson s**ually a**aulted his coworker. Just telling you because I used to be a fan and I wish I knew

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

Just that this guy here has not assaulted someone and so far has appeared to be just an wholesome guy doing his thing.

[@CosmaPaulaton]

@@peribow8145 wait, what???

[@abovethemist1412]

" To solve this mystery, I Booked A Flight To Japan."

[@jak3w]

Someone watches nick robinson

[@SayAhh]

McDonald's?

[@ArthurTRead]

ok nick robinson

[@DavidChaArt]

7:01 apples are my favorite vegetables.

[@elitebarbarian1903]

same lol

[@stormcloudsuper8593]

Lol

[@TBBlue101]

Wait 'till Scott The Woz sees his favourite game's logo get dissected.

[@frstwhsprs]

rosie

[@biryaniboy7587]

When you said “14 years after the game’s release”, my mind exploded!!! I still CANNOT believe it has actually been THAT long since the game’s release!! WOW!

[@dancingflameaxelotl2878]

when will we have the solution to the mystery of “UR MR GAY”?

[@ThomasGameDocs]

when i reach a million subs i'll do it

[@Frytoons]

That’s the first thing I thought of when I read the title

[@Frytoons]

@@ThomasGameDocs April fools day video

[@julianemkow8396]

@@ThomasGameDocs we will hold you to that

[@samueld8413]

Beat me to it

[@thanos452]

As an astrophotographer I feel like the stock photo and Caltech’s are different. I say this bc there is noticeably more spherical aberration in the stock pic (you can see this when they change between photos and the stars bulge slightly between each shot). This would mean it’s being shot with a different optical train. There’s also a bit more dynamic range in Caltech’s (there is less clipping in the cores). Also Caltech’s has more fine scale structures when compared to the stock pic and is overall smoother and less noisy. However I really enjoyed the vid and it’s really cool to see the actual stock photos used!

[@differentlydifferent]

Nintendo clearly used some type of filter which probably caused the things that you mentioned in your comment. As well as changing the color

[@soulubilityofficial6635]

“There are CDs with vegetables...” *proceeds to show pictures of fruit*

[@milktar2182]

Ah yes my favourite vegetable, *a apple*

[@BMoney8600]

Who’s to say that fruits cannot be vegetables?

[@3rdluiksuwu171]

@@BMoney8600 me

[@ryanthecelebi4146]

Captain byte I've gotta really hand to him that right there is dedication to figure out what image they used in mario galaxy title logo is incredible good for him👍

[@CometMedal]

Thank you, friend

[@Doodles1265]

@@CometMedal *OH MY GOODNESS!*

[@Pinkyorangegirl]

@@CometMedal You are on KZbin?!

[@CometMedal]

@@spidermanlift4527 Yep!

[@CometMedal]

@@Pinkyorangegirl Ish! I lost my old account a while ago, so I remade recently. I don't post, I just use KZbin to make playlists and leave comments, heh. It's better to catch me on Twitter!

[@alphabettical1]

If it goes as far back as 1959 in terms of the stars moving around, it would probably be that one in terms of less people being able to take pictures of galaxies then, less photography sources being important enough/easily accessible enough to end up on those CDs, and then the connection to those CDs, Japan and Nintendo's use of other images from there makes it certain.

[@pianoplayer2147]

Thomas Game Docs around the halfway point: He’d finally done it! He found the photo! Me: NO HE AINT FOUND IT YET

[@ThomasGameDocs]

he's still got half a video to go!!

[@BBWahoo]

@@ThomasGameDocs YA, I AM, R U?

[@leakdeo]

@@BBWahoo YUPP

[@orangejjay]

It blows me away to see how much progress has been made in your style and production value. This video is incredible ... probably one of the best you've ever done. If you ever decide to break out into docs in other categories, please please share them. I know they'll be great.

[@IceBlueStarCat]

I think super Mario Galaxy itself is a mystery because you can easily just look out into to the starry sky and just ask yourself “I wonder what’s out there”

[@JAMF_]

I remember asking myself this as a kid and quite recently... thank you for making this and letting me and the others know ;)

[@MrTheharshit]

This was a surprising emotional rollercoaster

[@imperialchain310]

That is so cool! I grew up just a few minutes from Palomar observatory and Mario galaxy was a big part of my childhood, crazy how these two things are connected

[@rattyeely]

This is so cool, I never even knew it was a real picture. It's amazing to think about how when they first took this picture, they never knew it would be the logo of a video game. They probably didn't even know what video games were!

[@crdoesstuff6377]

props to nintendo for actually going to space to get those images

[@kidkruschev]

NASA flopped

[@mahougesu170]

Honestly it's rly nice to see Captain Byte's passion for astronomy, it kinda warms my heart when ppl have things they love so much like that

[@d00mch1ld]

If you think about it to create that logo; light from Andromeda, travelled 2.5 years to arrive on earth in 1959, where a telescope captures that light, then gets turned into digits and bite, that gets packaged in 1998 that gets used by a some programmer for a logo in a game that gets released in 2007.

[@dragonick2947]

"vegetables..." _shows apples_

[@mariocisemusic]

3:33 now I can be called Mr. Gay in *HD*

[@themetapod]

That's all I was thinking of this whole video

[@Carol_343]

Ahh my birthday’s tomorrow and this is the best present I can get! I love your videos so much, keep on doing what you’re doing!

[@cjrobana]

i'm BEGGING you to post your gorgeous piano covers online. you are so so talented

[@TheMarionick]

To be honest, I didn't even know there was a galaxy in the logo until I saw your thumbnail

[@leakdeo]

Same here

[@thomas9816]

I just realised you look exactly like a friend of mine lmao

[@Ultimatedogfan]

Plot twist: he's your friend

[@j.rohmann3199]

He looks like my ex lol Kinda creepy

[@Eturnes]

lovely work, both from you and Captain Byte

[@CometMedal]

Much appreciated!

[@TheFlamingGamerYT]

Wow, I never knew about this mystery being out in the wild, not even back when I first played this game in the early 2010s. I never once thought about the Galaxy in the logo, but man, now this is gonna make me take a deep look at certain things in some logos haha. Amazing video Thomas! I’m glad that there’s, at least from the looks of it, a conclusion to this mystery

[@Sonicplayer78]

I thought it was about the “r you mr gay” secret

[@Frytoons]

Don’t worry most of us did.

[@david_ga8490]

Same

[@videogamemvp9570]

Same

[@brucebaird-]

You guys: where does this image come from? Me: how does Mario breathe in outer space?

[@friskycalibri2293]

The same way Sonic breathes in outer space. But what Is that way?

[@KKrill]

Okay but the piano arrangement you're playing at the end is so nice I love it

[@SwedenTheHedgehog]

At 6:58 you can see a cloud picture in the bottom right, called “SE015”. That is the picture Nintendo used in the background of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!’s main promotional art.

[@MidnyteSketch]

It's kind of amazing how much of Nintendo's iconic games were made using stock material CD's, from Ocarina of Time to Super Mario Galaxy. I wonder just how many of these things they have floating around in their databases.

[@spacemanspiff2137]

Stars move extraordinary slow through a galaxy. The stars in every image of Andromeda ever taken can be aligned in the same way (as long as there has been no stretching of the image) 10:19

[@creativename4879]

Would time of day it’s taken and location on earth not affect the apparently location of the stars

[@spacemanspiff2137]

@@creativename4879 Opposite times of year creates enough parallax to see small movements in nearby stars because the Earth moves from one side of the sun to the other. But this effect isn’t noticeable for distant stars, and certainly not for other galaxies

[@VoidHarbinger430]

This game has been so underappreciated lately. Great vid Tom!

[@classicclaudia]

So cool to see people passionate about such little things that not many people would blink an eye to. Awesome guys!

[@SuperStamps]

I love how this dude turns a simple texture into a dramatic video He's the only one I know that can do that properly

[@ExpomationStudios]

Just gotta love that beautiful piano cover

[@JapaneseTop1]

What song is that?

[@armyguy1893]

Thomas, I'm so impressed with you. You take things that I love and turn them into things I love more.

[@awakenedcrowl]

You, sir, have just answered the question I have never asked myself yet am kinda happy to now have the answer to.

[@Aaron_J_Theater]

I love your videos, thank you so much for doing what you do.

[@Mariojacob7red]

I loved your cover of that Super Mario Galaxy song in the outro. You should definitely make a cover of it! It sounds great and it's peaceful. 😄😊

[@sagacious03]

Great video! Thanks for uploading!

[@parsuli.]

Fascinating stuff. Similar plot to the Texture Archeology video from a while back :). Small tip for what you did at the end: Photoshop (and other image editing tools) have a Blend Mode called Difference and you can use that to compare the similarity between two images. If you get all black (or a solid color), then the images are identical.

[@masoncrowley7862]

Captain Byte is incredibly talented! How can one contain such an amount of skill and intelligence?

[@SlashJaye]

we're getting into nick robinson levels of searching

[@mariobroultimate1808]

At least this guy doesn’t go to Japan.

[@m.greenfield6328]

hopefully not nick robinson levels of sliding into dms

[@gggg-hq4td]

@@mariobroultimate1808 Well, i don't think Japan would be enough. The man would have to travel extragalactically

[@vepply]

Yes, but this time its twice as pointless!

[@MasterLYT]

"...so I had to travel to the Andromeda galaxy."

[@renartendo]

14 years !? Wow, thanks for making me feel old

[@jarondee4798]

I get so hyped when I see a new video. I know it's going to be gold.

[@vii-ka]

bruh we still don't know where the other parts of the image came from

[@jak3w]

Datacraft Sozaijiten Vol.21 SVO79, or nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-saturn.html

[@anttheknee64]

Man I love the frequent uploads, just don't burn yourself out! :)

[@tacocats2244]

This is so awesome! I didn't even know this was a mystery but it's nice to know that one of my favorite games in the world mystery's been solved!

[@oldzoovyzoov181]

I think all of your videos make me go “huh yeah that’s cool” and I mean that in the best way possible

[@MaybeImSkittleMaybeImNot]

I seriously thought it was the "U R Mr Gay" thing Edit: Apparently I'm not the only one who thought this thankfully

[@jytvreal]

and galaxy 2 was "ya im r u 2"

[@thelunaticcultist5157]

That’s a good question

[@kevinballesteros561]

That is crazy. I've been on Palomar mountain several times, and I have heard about how close the observatory is and that is used to be regularly utilized, until better and higher observatories were built. What a coincidence that the photo was taken from the Palomar Observatory.

[@CyanicCore]

I always thought it was drawn up for the game, but this is far more unique!

[@yanicklinssen3061]

I loved this Mario game so much when I was younger

[@ppleakage2785]

This is some serious stuff and I’m all for it

[@tacticalgrape2658]

Wow all the way from 1959?? Thats CRAZY dude. 62 years ago the image for mario galaxy's logo. Great work captain Byte!

[@jlchips]

Just went to a planetarium show and they actually showed an image of Andromeda taken by Robert Gendler. I saw the name and was thinking "That name is so familiar!" I had a feeling it was from this video. I think it was probably that same image.

[@bestberry7332]

No one else going to mention the amazing Gusty garden arrangement at the end? By the way the 1-up noise would have gone perfectly at the end

[@MarshalerOfficial]

the sheer dedication for someone to find something so intresting in a game that allready has a lot of things is so awesome

[@Ryan-bm8lc]

it's nice to see someone else cares about this, i had to do a lot of digging to find this for a galaxy style logo back in august

[@yedi2117]

I love how it feels like watching a national discovery documentary every time I watch one of his videos lol.

[@ghostwizard7597]

Alternative Title: An entire fandom fires Nintendo logo designer for using a picture instead of making his own render.

[@ninjayajnin]

the thumbnail circled the LA in galaxy and i thought it was gonna be a dababy meme lmao

[@UltraNurture]

Such a great story! I love Mario Galaxy so much and it's cool to know the image has been found :)

[@NoobOS_YT]

“Theres folders that contain stuff like vegetables.” (Shows apples)

[@tobito99]

Never really thought about it… Interesting how some people spent their time. But there’s one more question: Did Thomas just became German or what happened?

[@kamilradzikowski1663]

... nein

[@Thoomas2001]

2:36 Ha, imagine being able to actually see something when you look up into the night sky. I can usually see stars but I've never been able to see Andromeda.

[@anerdwithaswitch9686]

It depends on which hemisphere you're in. Andromeda is only visible from the Northern Hemisphere on Earth. It's also incredibly faint to the naked eye; it is 2.5 million light years away, after all--it and the Triangulum Galaxy are the furthest objects away from Earth that are visible to the naked eye.

[@Thoomas2001]

@@anerdwithaswitch9686 I am on the northern hemisphere, so that part isn't a problem.

[@Hutch2Much]

it’s pretty small, it looks a little like a blurry star

[@qinn1996]

You can probably see it better when you look from an area without any civilization nearby. I was really impressed when I saw the milkyway in Iceland's night sky for example.

[@Thoomas2001]

@@qinn1996 I live in a densely populated country, so eh. Also, seeing the Milky Way in the sky is also something I've never experienced and I have no idea how to even imagine that looking like.

[@christoalonzo]

A mystery documentary I never thought I wanted

[@crisunjackalD]

Considering how similar most bar-spiral galaxies look without a keen eye and some patience, the stumbling blocks are understandable but the work that went into this discovery is incredible

[@thebcplayer]

I'm guessing that the copyright claim has been removed?

[@ThomasGameDocs]

no lol still there but i'm just gonna put my faith in epidemic sound to figure it out

[@thebcplayer]

@@ThomasGameDocs Ah, it'll be gone soon. Hopefully...

[@SLZeroArrow]

@@ThomasGameDocs Its probably a scammer, contact local authorities do deal with them.

[@Gabowsk]

From the same creators of "Minecraft at Home" We have: "Super Mario at Home"

[@SushibiNewSNESMusic]

8:02 That exact picture is also used in the Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Arceus Event and as a default Title Screen for the RPG Maker 2003!

[@justafreakingun588]

SO MUCH WORK FoR such a smol thing

[@H4lloww]

YAY he live streamed and had A VIDEO ON THE SAME DAY!!

[@Hylanos]

Looks good, but I'm not sure that's it, bud. Flicking between the two photographs, you can see a change in radial distortion at the center of the pic. Of course every photo of andromeda is gonna line up extremely well, since we are so far away from Andromeda the difference in images can be miniscule, but unless it was purposefully distorted, I'm not sure this is it

[@silvaroo]

Props to both Thomas and Captain Byte!! 💖

[@Pinkyorangegirl]

Great video!

[@Silver-2802]

As someone who's been interested in space for my whole life I was kinda surprised when Thomas said that he didn't know that Andromeda Galaxy was called Andromeda

[@JorgetePanete]

And it's the second most popular

[@erikmuttik3840]

3:19 as soon as I heard that song I recognised it as the action lab background music

[@crab-yt2wy]

YES

[@pixelfolf8734]

Do you think you could link me it as I've been trying to find this music for years

[@jamesonforsythe3418]

This game came out around when I was born and loved this game and this was great to know

[@YataNr1]

Wow, this has been very intriguing. Super Mario Galaxy just really emits very special vibes.