Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

As the full moon rises this Wednesday evening, June 18, many people will be tricked into thinking it's unusually large.

lhttps://i30.tinypic.com/rc534j.jpg

The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon.

https://i32.tinypic.com/35lgk9c.gif  https://i28.tinypic.com/wik75u.jpg

But it really is all in our minds. The moon is not bigger at the horizon than when overhead.

Explanation:
Is the Moon larger when near the horizon? No -- as shown above, the Moon appears to be very nearly the same size no matter its location on the sky. Oddly, the cause or causes for the common Moon Illusion are still being debated. Two leading explanations both hinge on the illusion that foreground objects make a horizon Moon seem farther in the distance. The historically most popular explanation then holds that the mind interprets more distant objects as wider, while a more recent explanation adds that the distance illusion may actually make the eye focus differently. Either way, the angular diameter of the Moon is always about 0.5 degrees. In the above time-lapse sequence taken near the end of last year, the Moon was briefly re-imaged every 2.5 minutes, with the last exposure of longer duration to bring up a magnificent panorama of the city of Seattle.
Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations, according to NASA: New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Miami, 8:35 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.

https://i27.tinypic.com/s2dw8o.jpg
The full moon rising over Manchester, Maryland.

The moon rises about 50 minutes earlier Tuesday night, when the effect will also be noticeable because the moon will be nearly full. Oh, and that raises another fallacy: There's no such thing as a full moon.
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wensleydale8
Member
+81|7238|LEEDS!!!!!, Yorkshire
oh yeah i watched something about this around a week ago they said it looks bigger nearer the horizon and one of the reasons is because there are objects on the ground to compare its size to.
Dear God please let my karma one day reach 100, whether it be tomorrow or 1000 years in the future i want it to happen.
Volatile
Member
+252|7173|Sextupling in Empire

Old photography trick: Long telephoto lens + far away objects with moon as background =
DesertFox-
The very model of a modern major general
+796|7154|United States of America
It is bigger; someone shot it with the sniper rifle.
Airwolf
Latter Alcoholic
+287|7189|Scotland
saw it tonight walking home.

it was orange and massive. i was like
i g
Banned
+876|6333|GA

don't forget to take pics km
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

If the weather permits .
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TrollmeaT
Aspiring Objectivist
+492|7141|Colorado
The moon always looks big to me as I'm at 10,000 feet above sea level.
cowami
OY, BITCHTITS!
+1,106|6759|Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk

DesertFox- wrote:

It is bigger; someone shot it with the sniper rifle.
lolGTA
https://i.imgur.com/PfIpcdn.gif
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

Todays APOD was pretty damn cool also.

https://i31.tinypic.com/2ynoro1.jpg
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S.Lythberg
Mastermind
+429|6916|Chicago, IL

Kmarion wrote:

Todays APOD was pretty damn cool also.

http://i31.tinypic.com/2ynoro1.jpg
oo, nova remnant, good thing it was far away, or we'd all have really good tans...
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Todays APOD was pretty damn cool also.

http://i31.tinypic.com/2ynoro1.jpg
oo, nova remnant, good thing it was far away, or we'd all have really good tans...
http://documentary-log.com/?id=28
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Freke1
I play at night... mostly
+47|7016|the best galaxy
It does look bigger. Do You know why it doesn't rotate?
(when I look up on the moon, I allways imagin the astronauts there LOL - kool dudes)
https://bf3s.com/sigs/7d11696e2ffd4edeff06466095e98b0fab37462c.png
S.Lythberg
Mastermind
+429|6916|Chicago, IL

Freke1 wrote:

It does look bigger. Do You know why it doesn't rotate?
(when I look up on the moon, I allways imagin the astronauts there LOL - kool dudes)
it rotates every 28.5 days

it also orbits every 28.5 days
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
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cowami
OY, BITCHTITS!
+1,106|6759|Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
i don't have stars
https://i.imgur.com/PfIpcdn.gif
S.Lythberg
Mastermind
+429|6916|Chicago, IL

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
it's 1300 times the size of earth, it better be big

that said, the sky in Chicago is a sickly orange all night
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

cowami wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
i don't have stars
It's brighter than any star out there .

Here is a good free open source program to help identify your night sky.
http://www.stellarium.org/
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Mitch
16 more years
+877|6994|South Florida

DesertFox- wrote:

It is bigger; someone shot it with the sniper rifle.
+1 for creativity
15 more years! 15 more years!
cowami
OY, BITCHTITS!
+1,106|6759|Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk

Kmarion wrote:

cowami wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
i don't have stars
It's brighter than any star out there .

Here is a good free open source program to help identify your night sky.
http://www.stellarium.org/
big city life = no stars

EVER (thanks in part to St. John's University never shutting off their soccer field's lights).
https://i.imgur.com/PfIpcdn.gif
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
it's 1300 times the size of earth, it better be big

that said, the sky in Chicago is a sickly orange all night
I can see the bands ... with a little help of course.
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S.Lythberg
Mastermind
+429|6916|Chicago, IL

Kmarion wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Jupiter is looking pretty big sitting in the east also right now.
it's 1300 times the size of earth, it better be big

that said, the sky in Chicago is a sickly orange all night
I can see the bands ... with a little help of course.
actually, I can see Jupiter, Venus, Polaris, Orion's belt and a few of the other really bright ones if i look really hard

edit: but that's it, even the big dipper is drowned out

Last edited by S.Lythberg (2008-06-17 20:37:52)

Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:


it's 1300 times the size of earth, it better be big

that said, the sky in Chicago is a sickly orange all night
I can see the bands ... with a little help of course.
actually, I can see Jupiter, Venus, Polaris, Orion's belt and a few of the other really bright ones if i look really hard

edit: but that's it, even the big dipper is drowned out
Well you should easily be able to see every planet up to Saturn as well as the big dipper (and no doubt Sirius). Have you ever seen the ISS pass over? That's pretty cool.
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S.Lythberg
Mastermind
+429|6916|Chicago, IL

Kmarion wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:


I can see the bands ... with a little help of course.
actually, I can see Jupiter, Venus, Polaris, Orion's belt and a few of the other really bright ones if i look really hard

edit: but that's it, even the big dipper is drowned out
Well you should easily be able to see every planet up to Saturn as well as the big dipper (and no doubt Sirius). Have you ever seen the ISS pass over? That's pretty cool.
on very clear winter nights, I can see the major stars.

I've never seen the milky way
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|7070|132 and Bush

S.Lythberg wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:

actually, I can see Jupiter, Venus, Polaris, Orion's belt and a few of the other really bright ones if i look really hard

edit: but that's it, even the big dipper is drowned out
Well you should easily be able to see every planet up to Saturn as well as the big dipper (and no doubt Sirius). Have you ever seen the ISS pass over? That's pretty cool.
on very clear winter nights, I can see the major stars.

I've never seen the milky way
I can see the bands on a clear night. I moved away from the city lights in October and the difference is amazing. I just took a video. No tripod.. I just did it taking out the trash. Serious shakin camera syndrome going on . I'll post it in a sec.
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