Oh well, a busy week with little time for sensawunda. And then it hits you in the face.
It started when my young daughter contrasted the world of The Clangers with Earth, which led us to trawl the web for astronomical views, including the excellent Powers of Ten. My 5 year old accepted that these were proper representations of the Earth from space, but she was distinctly unimpressed by the lack of choice in where you travelled. So we moved on to more earthbound marvels, like Santa's Village in Lapland, videos of the Aurora Borealis, and unresolved questions as to the exact appearance of elves.
Later, my wife chanced upon Celestia, an astonishing simulation of the known universe in real time. Go see. Just try not to be moved by tracking Despina across the surface of Neptune.