it could have been smaller or bigger, but no it is like perfect
2006-09-19 08:30:22 · 19 answers · asked by jerse15 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It is not strange but significant.The fact that the sun and the moon appear to have the same angular size is remarkable.( This is what causes a TOTAL solar eclipse, not the other war round.) The same apparent angular size may be a cincidence . Or it may contain an importatnt clue to how the moon formed, It is "known" that the moon formed close to the earth , and accreted matter as it moved away.
The question you have raised is an importatnt reasearch problem
2006-09-19 17:27:58 · answer #1 · answered by Rajesh Kochhar 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is an oddity that it's just the right size to cover the sun right now, but that will change over a period of a few million years. The moon's orbit is imperceptibly changing, and it will eventually escape the earth's gravity, so as it gets further away, we will be able to see the sun during a solar eclipse.
2006-09-19 08:39:26 · answer #2 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the moon appears to be larger than the sun during the TOTAL ECLIPSE but during partial eclipse you can always see a little part of the sun. depends on the distance and line up of sun moon and earth during the eclipse. Also the eclipse can be total in some countries, while at the same time partial somewhere else
2006-09-19 08:39:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
they aren't really the same size, the orbits of the moon relative to the position of the sun during the period of a solar eclipse makes it look like the moon is covering the sun. actually, it is only that the light from the sun is not able to get around the moon during the eclipse. its like holding a golf ball up to your eye and a basketball at arms length. the golf ball looks bigger, but it is only a matter of perspective.
2006-09-19 08:35:41 · answer #4 · answered by yonitan 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Oh Sweetie - the moon and the sun ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE during a solar eclipse!!! The Sun is MUCH MUCH bigger - but is VERY VERY MUCH farther away from the Earth than the moon. It is simply a coincidence that they frequently look the same size in the sky!
2006-09-19 08:33:47 · answer #5 · answered by yonica 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I did the maths in this as quickly as. The solar is approximately 4 hundred situations farther faraway from the earth than the moon is. What else is exciting is that the solar is approximately 4 hundred situations greater suitable in diameter than the moon. This coincidence makes the solar and moon seem interior 2% the comparable length as one yet another interior the sky. Cool huh??
2016-10-15 04:24:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is true now - The Moon moves Further out of our solar system about 2 inches every year - eventually it will be smaller. But at least not in our lifetime.
2006-09-19 08:37:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No because the moon is a lot closer to Earth than is the sun, and it's not "exactly" the same size -- it's slightly bigger to us than the sun but the rays extend out further.
2006-09-19 08:34:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Only during a total eclipse does this happen. During an annular eclipse, the moon appears smaller than the sun.
2006-09-19 08:35:40 · answer #9 · answered by faversham 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The moon casts earth's shadow in the path of the sun during an eclipse. That's all. No size changes honey. Don't look at it directly. Use a shadow box.
2006-09-19 08:35:16 · answer #10 · answered by Chris 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋