Great analogy, both height and luminosity decrease with distance, but they scale differently. Photographed height (like the angular size of an object) decreases linearly with respect to distance: (height in photo) ∝ 1 / distance, via similar triangles.

But photographed luminosity (brightness) follows inverse square law: F ∝ 1 / distance² (or more accurately in cosmology: F = L / [4 * π * D_L²], where D_L is luminosity distance).

So while both are static projections onto a 2D image, they’re governed by different physical laws:

1) Height is geometrical (angles and triangles).

2) Luminosity is energetic (how flux spreads over area).

In cosmology, the analogy breaks further because distance isn’t static: expansion affects brightness, redshift dims photons, and spacetime curvature alters paths.