why does the moon look so much bigger at times?

Question

I was coming the other day from northern Ontario down to Toronto the moon was barely visible, but it was huge as it rose higher in the sky the smaller it got in size why please thanks

Answer 1

there are several explanations. The latest one I heard is that it's actually an illusion. That the brain just "sees" things bigger if they're closer to the horizon because they can be compared to other objects, while if they're in the middle of the sky there's nothing to compare the sizes. I have a problem with that theory because i really do think the moon looks way bigger when it is lower on the horizon. While the theory about the trajectory being eliptical makes some sense, I doubt that the trajectory is so flat that in 30 minutes as the moon rises, it actually moves away from the earth enough far enough to make a visible difference.
I think the best explanation has to do with the fact that the atmosphere acts as a lens and when you're looking towards the horizon the lens is a lot thicker than when you're looking straight up.
I think that's the best explanation.

Answer 2

It's an illusion done by our brains trying to "re-size" the moon or the sun that is perceived far away. This scaling comes from our feeling of the location of the sky. We "know" where the sky is according the cloud patterns. So our "scaling ability" of the brain "knows" that the sky is far away near the horizon but much more close just overhead. This works fine with clouds, birds, and aircraft. But the sun and the moon have the same distance form the observer when being next to the horizon or overhead. So the inherent "re-scaling" of our brains give us a false impression of a big moon at the horizon and a small moon overhead.

If the size of the moon would be caused by "lensing" of the atmosphere the round ball would be severely distorted because the upper and lower part of the moon would not the same "lensing".
If you have a digital camera make a picture of the moon at the horizon and another one when it's high in the sky with the same zoom setting. Then compare the two pictures on your PC by counting or measuring the number of pixels across.
The two pictures will have the moon in the same diameter within 1%.
The effect of the elliptical orbit of the moon has an influence of only about 10% in apparent size of the moon.

I hope this helps

Answer 3

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When the moon is lower on the horizon, it appears larger because you're unintentionally comparing it in size to objects on the horizon - like buildings and mountains.
As the moon rises, it appears to get smaller because the distance between the comparison objects and the moon increases.

Next time - try this when the moon is low on the horizon.
Hold up an object - like a ruler or a coin and compare it to the size of the moon. Make sure you also measure the distance the object you're holding is from your face.

In a few hours when the moon has risen, hold the object the same distance from your face and again compare it to the size of the moon.

You'll note they're idenitcal.

Answer 4

The process is called looming and it has to do mostly with our making comparisons between the trees and other stuff when it is near the horizon. The sun does the same thing but it is much harder for us to look at it. The moon does not change significantly in size during the month as it gets slightly closer and further in orbit and certainly not during the day when the earth is just revolving under it.

Answer 5

"Lensing effect" may the correct explanation.The fact that the atmosphere acts as a very big lens and only a very small portion of it is used to view the moon, the distortion may be negligible.

Answer 6

Because sometimes it is actually closer. Orbits are in an ellipses, not a perfect circle