when you see something from far away is there atmospheric magnification?

Question

structures seem bigger from far away

Answer 1

No. The atmosphere can only obscure a distant object. However, a phenomenon of the desert, where there are few reference points, can make a very distant object, like a mountain, appear much closer than it actually is.

Answer 2

You can do this one logically. Imagine that the object on the horizon is many objects all around you, just touching each other. They couldn't all be bigger, or they'd overlap, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Aparrently, the great late overrated Aristotle couldn't figure that one out since he thought the moon was actually magnified on the horizon.
In fact, the full moon on the horizon is actually a little smaller height wise Because the top and bottom of the moon are seen through different amounts of atmosphere, which refracts the light from different hights unevenly.