Does the Moon really appear larger from some parts of the world than it does from the UK?

Question

And can you tell me why or why not?

And (if applicable) where and when it looks largest from?

Thanks for the link, I am still as mystified but at least I know I'm not alone in my ignorance and strivings for truth!

Where in the world does the moon ever appear biggest from?

Answer 1

Hi. The moon appears largest when it is closest in it's orbit and directly overhead, no matter where you are.

Answer 2

Not really no.

Where you are in the world might create a small change in the size of the moon, due to the fact that you may be slightly closer to, or further away from, the moon. But, since the unaided human eye would not notice a change of only a few %, the difference would be so small that it would *appear* the same size.

Certainly, it would be nothing like the "moon illusion" that makes the moon look much bigger when it is near the horizon compared to when it's high overhead. No one is really sure what causes the "moon illusion" but you can read about it at the link below if you're interested.

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/3d/moonillu.htm


Oh, I just thought of another point....

How dark your environment is will effect how bright the moon will look. During the day, the moon doesn't look very bright compared to how it looks at night. Similarly, if you look at the moon from the middle of the wilderness, with no artificial light sources for hundreds of miles, the moon will look brighter than from a city with streets lights all over the place.

Would it make sense that if the moon looks brighter, we would assume it must be because it's bigger???

Just a thought.

Answer 3

Umm, I think that if the moon orbits around the earth in an eliptical shape (oval not perfect circle), then that is the reason that it appears larger in some places. Because its closer to the earth. Although the earth's spin and the moon's orbit are at different speeds, this causes the moon to appear big at different times of the year.

Answer 4

As a link is already posted above I will quote from it. This is why I have always been convinced of this illusion:

"When one looks at the moon near the horizon through a hole in a piece of paper held some distance in front of the eye the moon appears smaller. The "horizon effect" largely disappears. One interpretation of this experiment is that the paper tube obscures any familiar reference objects. It seems to show that the moon illusion is due to direct comparison with reference objects of known size."

Answer 5

Technically, you can be 2000 or 3000 km closer to the moon if you are on the equator instead of in the UK because the earth is round, but given that the moon is 400 000 km away, I doubt this less than 1% distance difference would be noticeable to the naked eye.

Answer 6

The answer is yes.From orbit.And,I would imagine,along the Moon,s plane of orbit.Where ever the moon passes directly overhead,it would appear larger.If your current location is either north or south of the moons' orbital plane,it will seem smaller.The difference would depend upon how far,either north or south,you are from its' orbital plane.The farther away,the smaller it would appear.An understanding of Einsteins' Theory of Relativity would help you.Its' size,or apparent size will depend on your position,relative to the path it takes around the Earth. Imagine a golf ball traveling around a grapefruit.Mark a spot on the grapefruit with a Sharpie.Then, pick a fixed orbit around the grapefruit.The size of the golf ball depends on that fixed orbit.If the orbit changes, or if you mark a different spot on the grapefruit,the apparent size of the golf ball changes,too.

Answer 7

The Moon(and Sun) only appear larger when they are low in the sky due to an optical illusion. Higher up they are the same size where ever you are on Earth.

Answer 8

Definitely appears larger here in Egypt then in UK. One evening I was amazed at how big it was, really huge, I can't tell you why, apart from being nearer or further from the equator I guess. Also something that surprised me too, when we get a new moon it is lying down, like a bowl, not on its side like in UK, I don't know why cos we have not crossed the equator here.

Answer 9

Yes, the atmosphere causes the light rays to twist the closer to the horizon the moon is viewed at, thus it appears larger the lower it is in the sky.

Answer 10

I really don't know why. I am originally from Hong Kong, and the moon appears very small and far away from there. In the UK, it actually seems to be much closer to me. Weird....