Did any of you see how big the moon was last night??? It was HUGE!!! I live in northern ca, so I dont know if it looked the same other places... did any of u see it? do any of you know why it was SO big??
2007-08-30 04:42:02 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes it is an illusion. If you had taken a picture and cut out just the moon and put it next to another picture (of the moon taken at the same pic size and zoom level) but when it was high in the sky and didn't look big, you would see that indeed the image you were seeing was the same size it always is.
It's just an optical illusion, nobody is sure why but they think it's because when it is near the horizon you have something else to compare it too, and you see how far away it is so it looks real big... when it is overhead you have nothing to compare it to. I can't explain why sometimes it looks bigger on the horizon than other times.
2007-08-30 04:49:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I saw it this morning. The Moon's size does not change. It can appear to be bigger than it really is if you see it near the horizon, but that is an optical illusion. You can make the illusion go away by looking at it upside down. Either stand on your head or lay down or bend over or whatever is the least embarrassing way to see it upside down and it will go back to looking normal size. And when it gets higher in the sky the illusion will go away too. People who say the Moon looked big are always seeing it just as it rises or sets, never high in the sky. It never looks big high in the sky.
2007-08-30 11:49:26 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it's always pretty much the same size, no matter which part of the sky it appears, or what time it is. When it's close to the horizon, the objects on/near the horizon look small compared to the moon, giving you the illusion that it's grown in size; When it's directly overhead, generally, you don't have any objects to compare it to, so it gives you the illusion of being smaller.
2007-08-30 12:13:36 · answer #3 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, the night before that there was a total lunar eclipse to be viewed here in Australia. The moon was huge here too and turned blood red while the eclipse was going on. Very beautiful. Maybe cos the earth, sun and moon are all in line they appear closer together therefore bigger?.
2007-08-30 12:07:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I'm in Singapore and there's a full moon here as well.
Over here, its that time of the year when we celebrate the Mooncake festival and we get to eat delicious mooncakes with interesting fillings :)
P.S. Check out the website if you're interested in interesting facts about the festival :)
2007-08-30 11:56:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its called a harvest moon at this time of year
2007-08-30 11:51:16 · answer #6 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
oh yeah. i saw it. it caused the tigers to lose i'm sure. to those dirty werewolves in kc.
2007-08-30 14:24:03 · answer #7 · answered by kickyouintheface 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋