3 ms·

They talk about the moon appearing larger near the horizon, but they say astronomers and psychologists don't agree on how to explain it. First of all, if a came

They talk about the moon appearing larger near the horizon, but they say astronomers and psychologists don't agree on how to explain it. First of all, if a camera is capable of recording the difference, what do psychologists have to do with it? And second, isn't it just refraction through the atmosphere? Light's coming in at a steeper angle and passing through more of the atmosphere than it is when the moon is higher in the sky. I've never heard any other theory.

chaosmachine 17y ago
"High moons and low moons make the same sized spot. ... Foreground objects trick your brain into thinking the moon is bigger than it really is." http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/20jun_moonillusion.htm http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/20jun_moonillusion.h...
- TallGuyShort 17y ago
  Ooh - I misread - I thought the article said that a camera _would_show the size difference. That is interesting.
  - mixmax 17y ago
    I actually had a hard time believing this, since the moon seems to be so much bigger when it's near the horizon. True to science I set up an experiment with a stick and a caliper - I could look from one end of the stick to the caliper fastened at the other end, and slide it so that the circumference of the moon would exactly fit. I could then look at the moon both when it was high in the sky, and when it was just above the horizon. Lo and behold - they were the exact same size, even though it didn't look that way at all. What I learned is that you can't always trust your senses.
bd 17y ago
There seem to be many theories, people even write books about this: "For over 100 years, research on the Moon illusion has been conducted by vision scientists who invariably have been psychologists specializing in human perception. After reviewing the many different explanations in their 2002 book The Mystery of the Moon Illusion, Ross and Plug conclude "No single theory has emerged victorious". The same conclusion is reached in the 1989 book, The Moon Illusion edited by Hershenson, which offers about 24 chapters written by different illusion researchers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion

chaosmachine 17y ago

"High moons and low moons make the same sized spot. ... Foreground objects trick your brain into thinking the moon is bigger than it really is." http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/20jun_moonillusion.htm http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/20jun_moonillusion.h...

TallGuyShort 17y ago
Ooh - I misread - I thought the article said that a camera _would_show the size difference. That is interesting.
- mixmax 17y ago
  I actually had a hard time believing this, since the moon seems to be so much bigger when it's near the horizon. True to science I set up an experiment with a stick and a caliper - I could look from one end of the stick to the caliper fastened at the other end, and slide it so that the circumference of the moon would exactly fit. I could then look at the moon both when it was high in the sky, and when it was just above the horizon. Lo and behold - they were the exact same size, even though it didn't look that way at all. What I learned is that you can't always trust your senses.

bd 17y ago

There seem to be many theories, people even write books about this: "For over 100 years, research on the Moon illusion has been conducted by vision scientists who invariably have been psychologists specializing in human perception. After reviewing the many different explanations in their 2002 book The Mystery of the Moon Illusion, Ross and Plug conclude "No single theory has emerged victorious". The same conclusion is reached in the 1989 book, The Moon Illusion edited by Hershenson, which offers about 24 chapters written by different illusion researchers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion