I've read answers to basically the same question, and they always amount to "it looks bigger because it's on the horizon and you have other objects to compare it with", but that doesn't wash because most of the time it still looks relatively small near the horizon, it's just on rare occasions when it looks really big. I'm literally looking at it right now, on the verge of disappearing across the lake, behind the Adirondaks and it just looks small/normal. But I recall times when driving and I feel like I'll run in to it at the end of the road.
2007-05-29 20:49:04 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Photography can also demonstrate the significant difference between the Moon at Perigee (closest point to the earth) and at Apogee (farthest point from the earth).
See 1st and 2nd links below
There is an Apogee and Perigee in every lunar month. and there are 13 lunar months in a year so the Moon changes its apparent size to the human eye, once a fortnight.
The orbit is elliptical and not a perfect circle and that is what causes these changes n distance from Earth.
APOGEE AND PERIGEE FOR REST OF THE YEAR:
There was an Apogee at 10 pm on Monday and the Moon is now getting larger-looking again as it approaches Perigee at 5 pm on June 12th
APOGEE: May 27 22:02 405456 km
PERIGEE: Jun 12 17:08 363,777 km
APOGEE: Jun 24 14:26 404538 km
PERIGEE: Jul 9 21:39 368,533 km
APOGEE: Jul 22 8:44 404150 km
PERIGEE: Aug 3 23:53 368,891 km
APOGEE: Aug 19 3:29 404620 km
PERIGEE: Aug 31 0:14 364,173 km
APOGEE: Sep 15 21:07 405644 km
PERIGEE: Sep 28 1:54 359,419 km
APOGEE: Oct 13 9:54 406489 km
PERIGEE: Oct 26 11:52 356,754 km
APOGEE: Nov 9 12:33 406670 km
PERIGEE: Nov 24 0:13 357,195 km
APOGEE: Dec 6 16:55 406234 km
PERIGEE: Dec 22 10:12 360,816 km
2007-05-29 21:59:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is an optical illusion caused by our perception of the sky. We do not perceive the sky to be a hemisphere above us but much flatter - like a saucer or a yarmulke. We imagine the horizon to be further away than the sky above us. We know this is not true but our eyes tell us differently.
When the moon or the sun is near the horizon we perceive it to be further away than it is when it is directly above us. This makes it look bigger. It isn't any larger, a photograph or a measurement will prove that, but it looks that way.
It was thought at one stage that it was the comparison with objects on the horizon that did this but that is not the case as a large moon can be seen over featureless horizons.
It doesn't always happen, optical illusions are like that. If you see a large moon, turn your back on it, bend over and look at it upside down through your legs. The apparent large size will have disappeared.
2007-05-29 21:01:08 · answer #2 · answered by tentofield 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a slight difference in apparent size of the moon when it is at perigee (closest approach) vs apogee (farthest point in orbit). however, this apparent difference in distance is by less than 10%--noticeable, but not dramatic.
The only other explanation of the moon appearing dramatically larger at times is some type of optical illusion. The details of this illusion have not been agreed on, nor is their any kind of consensus as to what conditions make it appear larger, although a lot of people bring up the horizon issue. More likely, it has to do with the presence of nearby objects crossing the horizon, but that's just my own personal speculation.
2007-05-29 20:56:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The consensus apparent size difference is that it is an optical illusion. The illusion can easily be proved by photography, but it seems that no one has come up with an explanation for the illusion that everyone accepts.
2007-05-29 21:25:21 · answer #4 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sometimes it's nearer to your side of the earth, and sometimes it's farther. If you're in the southern hemisphere, when the moon is nearer to the north, it'll appear smaller, but when it's nearer to the south, the people at north will see it smaller, and you will see it bigger.
2007-05-29 20:58:39 · answer #5 · answered by gaga 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOOKING TOWARD THE HORIZEN, you are looking through much more atmospere than if you viewed straight up. The fishbowl effect. it magnifies and bends the image like viewing your hand through the other side of a fishbowl, a very simple but similar effect.
2007-05-29 21:01:33 · answer #6 · answered by soundchaser 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is a word that is used to explain this odd appearance, it is called a 'loom.'
2007-06-02 13:58:31 · answer #7 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋