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Interesting article. I've always subscribed to the theory that nearer the horizon, people tend to use other things on the terrain as reference points for size

Interesting article. I've always subscribed to the theory that nearer the horizon, people tend to use other things on the terrain as reference points for size (as the article explains). However, I'd like to think that atmospherics has more to do with things than the article goes into - For instance, (ironically), astronauts who have stood on the moon itself have said that the lack of atmosphere and associated dust/movement around them made it impossible to judge distances. Boulders, rocks and mountains that they thought were only a few hundred feet away from them were in fact miles away, and vice versa.

spdustin 10y ago
If you've ever been to the Las Vegas strip and thought, 'it won't take long to walk from Mandalay Bay to NYNY," you can make the same mistake on Earth, too. :) It's an interesting read, though, and I've also read the point you've made. I wonder if there's any mathematical approach that can solve this, or if it's one of those "only affects humans" sort of things.
- cyberferret 10y ago
  I've read other theories on the astronauts dilemma. One train of thought focuses on the curvature of the horizon. It was theorised that the moon (being smaller than earth) had a more pronounced horizon curve, which lead to the miscalculation of distant objects for the astronauts. I am wondering if similarly, the very imperceptible curvature of the Earth's horizon can also affect the perception of size depending on how close an object is to said horizon. If so, it means that peripheral vision may provide the brain with more cues than we realise.
amelius 10y ago
> However, I'd like to think that atmospherics has more to do with things than the article goes into But, from the article: > We know that this phenomenon is not a physical or atmospheric effect, as may be easily demonstrated by photographing the moon in the sky at various elevations and comparing its size on the negatives.
- cyberferret 10y ago
  I agree with that observation. I used to think that the different thickness in atmosphere had some some sort of lens or refracting effect, but that is clearly not the case. I was thinking more along the lines of the smoke/dust/haze looking across our atmosphere may actually bias our visual cues and sense of perception, much like the absence of atmosphere did to the astronauts.

spdustin 10y ago

If you've ever been to the Las Vegas strip and thought, 'it won't take long to walk from Mandalay Bay to NYNY," you can make the same mistake on Earth, too. :) It's an interesting read, though, and I've also read the point you've made. I wonder if there's any mathematical approach that can solve this, or if it's one of those "only affects humans" sort of things.

cyberferret 10y ago
I've read other theories on the astronauts dilemma. One train of thought focuses on the curvature of the horizon. It was theorised that the moon (being smaller than earth) had a more pronounced horizon curve, which lead to the miscalculation of distant objects for the astronauts. I am wondering if similarly, the very imperceptible curvature of the Earth's horizon can also affect the perception of size depending on how close an object is to said horizon. If so, it means that peripheral vision may provide the brain with more cues than we realise.

amelius 10y ago

> However, I'd like to think that atmospherics has more to do with things than the article goes into But, from the article: > We know that this phenomenon is not a physical or atmospheric effect, as may be easily demonstrated by photographing the moon in the sky at various elevations and comparing its size on the negatives.

cyberferret 10y ago
I agree with that observation. I used to think that the different thickness in atmosphere had some some sort of lens or refracting effect, but that is clearly not the case. I was thinking more along the lines of the smoke/dust/haze looking across our atmosphere may actually bias our visual cues and sense of perception, much like the absence of atmosphere did to the astronauts.