Answer: Pixel Puzzle #251

The hidden picture is a planet with a ring!

The picture as Python

Here is the same picture stored as numbers in a Python list. The program reads each number and prints a symbol for it, so you can see the picture appear in the Python shell.

picture = [
    "000000000000",
    "010000000000",
    "000022330000",
    "000333222001",
    "003222222111",
    "002222221300",
    "002122333200",
    "111333222200",
    "100222222000",
    "000022220000",
    "000100000000",
    "000000000000",
]
symbols = " #@*"

for row in picture:
    line = ""
    for number in row:
        line = line + symbols[int(number)]
    print(line)

When you run it, it prints:

 #
    @@**
   ***@@@  #
  *@@@@@@###
  @@@@@@#*
  @#@@***@
###***@@@@
#  @@@@@@
    @@@@
   #

Squashing the picture smaller

Computers often save space with a trick called run-length encoding. Instead of storing every pixel, they count how many of the same colour are in a row. Here’s this picture written that way:

Show the run-length code

• Row 1: 12 × white
• Row 2: 1 × white, 1 × yellow, 10 × white
• Row 3: 4 × white, 2 × blue, 2 × orange, 4 × white
• Row 4: 3 × white, 3 × orange, 3 × blue, 2 × white, 1 × yellow
• Row 5: 2 × white, 1 × orange, 6 × blue, 3 × yellow
• Row 6: 2 × white, 6 × blue, 1 × yellow, 1 × orange, 2 × white
• Row 7: 2 × white, 1 × blue, 1 × yellow, 2 × blue, 3 × orange, 1 × blue, 2 × white
• Row 8: 3 × yellow, 3 × orange, 4 × blue, 2 × white
• Row 9: 1 × yellow, 2 × white, 6 × blue, 3 × white
• Row 10: 4 × white, 4 × blue, 4 × white
• Row 11: 3 × white, 1 × yellow, 8 × white
• Row 12: 12 × white