Website review: NASA - Solstice Moon Illusion
TapwaterJ discovered this in Astronomy
•6 reviews since Jun 16, 2008
astronomy, moon-illusion, moon
•science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/16jun_moonil...
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Reviews of this website
Hira0000 rated 2 months ago- From the page: "June 16 , 2008: Sometimes you just can't believe your eyes. This week is one of those times. On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this "moon" is strangely inflated. It's huge! You've just experienced the Moon Illusion."
- erithbabalon rated 2 months ago
- On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. There's no better time to see it. The full Moon of June 18th is a "solstice moon", coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion. Sky watchers have known for thousands of years that low-hanging moons look unnaturally big.
- ericthehamster rated 2 months ago
- Fascinating - I wonder whether we will be able to see this in the UK - will have to remember to look out (if the clouds disperse, that is!).
- xineann rated 2 months ago
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Sometimes you just can't believe your eyes. This week is one of those times.
On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this "moon" is strangely inflated. It's huge!
You've just experienced the Moon Illusion.
There's no better time to see it. The full Moon of June 18th is a "solstice moon", coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This is significant because the sun and full Moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion.
Sky watchers have known for thousands of years that low-hanging moons look unnaturally big. At first, astronomers thought the atmosphere must be magnifying the Moon near the horizon, but cameras showed that is not the case. Moons on film are the same size regardless of elevation: example. Apparently, only human beings see giant moons.
Are we crazy?
After all these years, scientists still aren't sure. When you look at the Moon, rays of moonlight converge and form an image about 0.15 mm wide on the retina in the back of your eye. High moons and low moons make the same sized spot, yet the brain insists one is bigger than the other. Go figure.
A similar illusion was discovered in 1913 by Mario Ponzo, who drew two identical bars across a pair of converging lines, like the railroad tracks pictured right. The upper yellow bar looks wider because it spans a greater apparent distance between the rails. This is the Ponzo Illusion.
Read more about the moon illusion
It came from TapwaterJ
- shell42970 rated 2 months ago
- From the page: "On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this "moon" is strangely inflated. It's huge!
You've just experienced the Moon Illusion."
I want to catch this. - From the page: "On Wednesday night, June 18th, step outside at sunset and look around. You'll see a giant form rising in the east. At first glance it looks like the full Moon. It has craters and seas and the face of a man, but this "moon" is strangely inflated. It's huge!
- earthwormken rated 2 months ago
- Link to a good article on the effect and when it occurs at various areas in the US.
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