Why does the Sun & the Moom appear bigger and closer at times?

Answer 1

because someone put LSD in your food or drink that day without you knowing.

Answer 2

The reason the Sun (and the Moon) sometimes looks like
it has a different size probably has to do with where
you see it in the sky. If the Sun is near the horizon,
it may often look bigger than when it is right
overhead. The Sun's disk is also easier to see when it
is not so bright---for example, when it is near the
horizon and therefore you may look more at it and
wonder about its size than when it is overhead and is
uncomfortably bright.
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/feb2001/982591746.As.r.html

Back in the real atmosphere, molecules of water, oxygen
and other things get in light's way, refracting some of
it, sending it off in new directions. With more
atmosphere comes more refraction.

Here's the important part: When the Sun is at the
horizon, light from its bottom travels through just a
bit more air than light from the top. This lower batch
of light gets refracted upward, and so the Sun appears
squashed, as though it's being drawn up like a set of
mini-blinds. Yet light from the left and right sides of
the Sun travel through the same amount of atmosphere,
so the Sun does not spread out -- it's horizontal
dimension remains the same.

The squashed Sun effect happens to the Moon, too, when
it is near the horizon.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun_mysteries_020716-1.html

Everyone noticed that Sun and Moon, when close to the
horizon, are much "bigger" than when seen at higher
altitudes. The phenomenon is so overwhelming that most
people do not believe that this difference of size is
only an illusion created in our minds and not the trick
played by atmospheric refraction or something else. Yet
this is only an illusion and you may check it yourself.

You have to use an instrument allowing you to measure
apparent sizes of bodies in question. The most
convenient would be marine sextant which is rather
expensive so probably most of you do not have it. A
very simple device you may construct yourself using a
piece of glass. Shade it with candle smoke and be very
careful when viewing the Sun through it. When you use
shaded glass you have to assure that you hold it at
constant distance from your eye. Your stretched hand
would be fine or for greater accuracy you may use a
piece of string attached to your collar or fix the
glass to wooden board or ruler which you may aim at the
celestial body. To measure the size of the celestial
body simply make scratches on the glass marking body's
diameter.
http://home.san.rr.com/slawek/Tata/astro/illusion.html

Answer 3

The Sun's OK, but if that dastardly MOOM gets any closer, I think we should nuke it.

And justanotherengine, could you tell us what galaxy you come from? Because none of the info you have posted here has anything to do with Earth

Answer 4

When seeing them closer to the horizon our brains finally compare their sizes to known objects and provide an interpretation of the real size.
When hanging over our heads there is nothing to compare to, and our brain scores their size according to disk completeness and others, but that score says they must be rather small.
Indeed, twice a year we reach the nearest to the sun, and two times a year the farthest from the sun, but that is a mere 3% difference, not to be seen by eye.
There's been a nice article in recent editions of Scientific American.

Answer 5

This is really a neat optical illusion.

ok... try this:

when you see the moon on the horizon, hold up a dime at arms length and compare the size difference.

Then do the same when it is up over head.

You will be surprised to see that there is no difference.

When the moon is overhead, there is nothing to compare to other that the stars.

When it is on the horizon, your mind subconsciously makes the moon appear larger. (Your brain knows that the moon is larger that the trees and buildings.)

But when you do the comparison with the dime. you force your brain to not be fooled!

Although the same thing is happening, I would not do the same experiment for the sun.

Answer 6

Because they ARE ! In the northern hemisphere, the moon is closer at times apogee (Further away) and Perigee (closer to earth)

so is the sun "Aphelion, and perihelion"

The sun is closer to the earth during winter, further in summer (but gets more direct rays in the summer) Earth tilts it's axis so it's hotter. the moon rides higher in the sky during winter, again, this is in the northern hemisphere. Things get magnified as well when traveling through more atmosphere (gases) , that's why star's twinkle on the Horizon but, not over your head. On the horizon, you are looking through more atmospheric gases because, you line of sight is through the thickest part of the atmosphere. Overhead, there is less atmoshere between you, and space, so images are clearer, than on the horizon, thats why at sunrise/sunset, only long wave length's of light get through (yellow, red, orange), overhead, sun light gets scattered into the shortest light wave (BLUE), thats why the sky is blue !

Answer 7

Because our orbit and the orbit of the moon are not exact circles but elliptical.

So at certain times, they are in fact closer, therefore seems bigger. Unless you're using different scopes to look at them! :P

Answer 8

Optical illusion, plus the magnifying affect of the atmosphere causes them to look bigger at the horizon.

Answer 9

When they're closer to the horizon, you have something to compare them to, so they look bigger. As they rise, you run out of reference points, so they look smaller. That's normal, and it's mostly an optical illusion.

Answer 10

Beacuse of the rotation of the Earth and the fact it tilts on it's axis to cause the seasons. The moon also rotates and causess the waxing and waning effect.

Answer 11

orbital pattern of the earth in space as you know there are 365 days in a year and through out the year the earth is at different points in space.