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Staring at the sun anthony head1/28/2024 We compensate for this perception by inflating the Moon's size. Therefore, when we gaze at a horizon Moon, which clearly lies beyond every object in the foreground, our brains assume it must be farther away than the overhead version. Click graphic for more information.īut for extraterrestrial bodies such as the Moon, Sun and star groupings, which are identical in size whether on the horizon or at the zenith, we have no reference. Based on that assumption, we inflate its size to accommodate the false extra distance. When the Moon is viewed near the horizon, our brains judge it to be farther away than when seen near the zenith. The Moon's apparent size relates to our perception of the sky as a flattened dome. We're built to think that objects near the horizon are (usually) more distant than those overhead because they appear to lie behind and beyond foreground objects. In daily experience, an object overhead, say a bird or aircraft flying by, appears closer and therefore larger than the same bird or plane near the horizon because it really is closer. In a real moonrise, it's thought that distant trees, buildings and landscape features play the role of converging lines. This is known as the Ponzo illusion, discovered by Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo in 1913. Most of us see the top Moon, seemingly located in the distance based upon the convergence of the railroad tracks, as larger than the bottom Moon. So what's going on here? How we perceive the Moon's size has to do with how far away we think it is based on what's around it. ![]() There's no question it has to do with how we perceive celestial objects in a terrestrial setting, but the particulars remain elusive. The Big Dipper offers one of the best examples of constellation inflation, a phenomenon you can easily see this month and next. During early evening hours, the Dipper looms large as it arcs along the northern horizon, but seems to shrink toward dawn on its climb toward the zenith.įor as long as we've seen the Moon illusion, people have been trying to explain why it happens. local time in late November) and near the zenith (5 a.m.). Illustration demonstrating the subjective change in the size of the Big Dipper when viewed near the horizon (7 p.m. It was huge! That was my first impression, but interestingly, the sensation faded the longer I looked. Just the other night I caught sight of the trapezoid-shaped "Keystone" of Hercules setting in the northwest. Many observers have noticed this when viewing constellations near setting or rising compared to mental images of those same groups viewed higher up. The Moon illusion not only applies to the Moon but also to the constellations. Tape the tube so its size stays the same and look at the Moon again a few hours later when it's higher in the sky. Point it at the rising Moon and adjust the tube's size until it's a little larger than the Moon's diameter. To see for yourself, take a sheet of paper and roll it up into a narrow tube. ![]() Photos of the rising and meridian moons show them as identical in size. Back then, it was attributed to magnification by the atmosphere, but now we know the Moon illusion all in our head. Watch for the full Frost Moon to rise around sunset Wednesday night (November 25th), a perfect opportunity to witness one of the oldest psychological tricks known to humankind: the Moon illusion.Įven as far back as the 4th century B.C., Aristotle noted the apparent hugeness of the horizon-hugging Moon compared to it viewed overhead. A multiple exposure of the rising full Moon shows it's identical in size from start to finish. ![]() See the truth with your own eyes at the rising of the next full Moon. Is perception reality? Not when it comes to the Moon illusion.
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