Kevin's Watch

Okay, so I was reading that when I see the moon and it looks bigger, it is just an optical illusion. Well of course it is, but I disagree with how it is suggested. They say that the moon appears bigger when it is close to the horizon because our mind plays a trick on us and it isn't that it is closer of course, but that we associate things on the ground as being closer. I'm sorry, but this is a big crock to me.

I like the idea that the atmosphere plays a part in it & it appears closer. Anyway, I just wanted to say that whoever came up with this nonsense is stupid. When I go to the ocean, there isn't anything on the ground to assist my belief that it is closer, but a sunset sure looks large there.

Yes this is one of my science attacks, but with no religious overtones. I just don't like this one.

It bugs me. I think it's a bunch of bull that a lot of people swallow just because they were told it was so. Like how people believe that there are crocs in New York sewers because they read it somewhere. It just makes me mad that people are subjected to this kind of hooey.

who else

It's like those words on your rear view mirror: "objects are closer than they appear". I bet they put that on just to trick the weak-minded among us. I mean, if I am going to believe just what I see, and use no common sense with it, then I'd believe the object is in front of me, looks just like me, and mimics my every move. Besides, we all know the moon is getting perilously close to earth, causing global warming, inflation, and increasing crime, and the world leaders can't do anything about it so they just make up stupid excuses to calm the ignorant masses of sheep so that they will continue to vote for them.

There's a good weekly program on The Learning Channel called Mostly True? Urban Legends Revealed whose purpose is to debunk the many societal myths that we've accumulated over the years, like the sewer crocodile story Zeph mentioned. I agree that it's all too easy for people to take what they read at face value or accept as truth a fanciful story, without further investigation. I've been guilty of that myself, sorry to say.

I thought everybody knew we never walked on the moon and that Martin Sheen really is the President of the United States? Sheeze. Will P. T. Barnum's ghost ever rest?











NOT

Not omnly have we been on the moon, but 5 years ago we colonized it. Unfortunately, we blew earth up, and the moon was sent out of orbit. There was a documentary about it back in the '70's.

"You don't remember when the earth blew up? It was completely destroyed and killed millions of people and we had to escape to this planet in the giant space ark? And then we decide not to tell the stupider people because we thought it might effect.........oh."

Wisdom from the prophet Steve Martin

The way I've always understood the phenomenon is that when the moon is closer to the horizon you have a scale reference within your field of vision (The reference is trees, buildings etc..) and thus the moon appears very large in comparison to these familiar objects. When the moon is higher in the sky it is the same size yet appears smaller because there is nothing surrounding it except sky and stars. From what I understand there is still debate over the cause of the illusion but I think you can easily prove that the size remains constant by using a ruler held at arms length to measure the width of the moon at the howizon and high in the night sky.

Too much work, Brinn. I prefer to believe in the 'expanding moon' theory; much less effort that way.

The diameter of the Moon is always 0.5 degrees of course, same as the Sun. I think the fact that when the Moon is near the horizon there is a thicker atmosphere bewtween your eyes and the Moon and the dispersion is bigger also plays a part in the phenomenon.

Like thicker glasses; I get it. I just don't buy it. Especially when you admit it is closer to earth!

I like it (I like pie **hmmm...another Dean Martin song begins to come to mind...**)

That's amore, Danlo

amanibhavam wrote:The diameter of the Moon is always 0.5 degrees of course, same as the Sun. I think the fact that when the Moon is near the horizon there is a thicker atmosphere bewtween your eyes and the Moon and the dispersion is bigger also plays a part in the phenomenon.

This is the way that I've always understood this as well. Also, when the moon is full and discolored (i.e. reddish-orange in appearance) I always thought it was because the red light has a longer wavelength than white and attributed this to the larger size appearance.

I'd go with a combination of Brinn and Amy's theories.

dANdeLION wrote:Too much work, Brinn. I prefer to believe in the 'expanding moon' theory; much less effort that way.

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so I was reading that when I see the moon and it looks bigger, it is just an optical illusion. Well of course it is, but I disagree with how it is suggested. They say that the moon appears bigger when it is close to the horizon because our mind plays a trick on us and it isn't that it is closer of course, but that we associate things on the ground as being closer. I'm sorry, but this is a big crock to me.

I like the idea that the atmosphere plays a part in it & it appears closer. Anyway, I just wanted to say that whoever came up with this nonsense is stupid. When I go to the ocean, there isn't anything on the ground to assist my belief that it is closer, but a sunset sure looks large there.

Yes this is one of my science attacks, but with no religious overtones. I just don't like this one.

It bugs me. I think it's a bunch of bull that a lot of people swallow just because they were told it was so. Like how people believe that there are crocs in New York sewers because they read it somewhere. It just makes me mad that people are subjected to this kind of hooey.

I have a research article which supports this theory, Zeph.

dlbpharmd wrote:

amanibhavam wrote:The diameter of the Moon is always 0.5 degrees of course, same as the Sun. I think the fact that when the Moon is near the horizon there is a thicker atmosphere bewtween your eyes and the Moon and the dispersion is bigger also plays a part in the phenomenon.

This is the way that I've always understood this as well. Also, when the moon is full and discolored (i.e. reddish-orange in appearance) I always thought it was because the red light has a longer wavelength than white and attributed this to the larger size appearance.

AH! I like this one!