Moon question

Originally posted by FabianFnas
You hint that the same illusion is valid by the sun too. And that hint is valid!

What seems to be the larger:
(1) The rising moon or the setting moon?
(2) The rising sun or the setting sun?
And why is it so?

Has this anything to do with astronomy, or geometry? Or is it only a matter of psycology and perception?

And another example: A solar eclipse, will it be total if it happens at sunset or sunrise, that is, when the sun has fully risen or the bottom tip of the sun just touches the horizon. And the same with a lunar eclipse, what happens if the eclipse is at sundown or sunrise?

Originally posted by sonhouse
And another example: A solar eclipse, will it be total if it happens at sunset or sunrise, that is, when the sun has fully risen or the bottom tip of the sun just touches the horizon. And the same with a lunar eclipse, what happens if the eclipse is at sundown or sunrise?

both the moon and the sun would be equally affected, so the actual appearance of the eclipse should be the same. at least as far as the cow can tell.

Originally posted by coquette
both the moon and the sun would be equally affected, so the actual appearance of the eclipse should be the same. at least as far as the cow can tell.

Speaking of solar eclipses and being in the right place at the right time, consider the rare coincidence of the sun and moon, of vastly different sizes, having virtually the same angular diameter in the sky as seen from Earth.

Originally posted by sonhouse
I wonder what the brain would do if confronted by putting a pair of calipers just clipping the sides of the moon when at its highest and then taking those calipers and locking them in place, then when the moon sets on the horizon, you put the calipers around the moon again. Would the brain see that the calipers should clip the same angle of the moon and be ...[text shortened]... you would view the calipers at the same distance each time, like your arms length or something.

Did you know that you can eclipse the sun from your eye with a dime held at arms length?

Originally posted by cheshirecatstevens
Did you know that you can eclipse the sun from your eye with a dime held at arms length?

Yet there are no dimes orbitting the Earth at that precise height.

There is however a moon.

The effect occurs with any celestial object. We perceive the sun, the moon, and even constellations as being bigger when they are near the horizon, particularly (maybe only) when there is some kind of terrestrial reference to tell our brains that the objects are "way out there" on or near the horizon. The effect should not be any different whether the object is rising, setting, or just skimming the horizon.

In fact, it has nothing to do with any physical effect. Try this: Draw a simple picture of a landscape. Put in anything you want to indicate a horizon with terrestrial reference points--mountains, trees, buildings, whatever you like. Then draw a circle as the moon using a fixed object, like a coin, bottle cap, or circle template. Put one circle near the horizon and another high in the sky. The one near the horizon will appear bigger.

Originally posted by smw6869
This, my friend, is mumbo jumbo. The moon affects the ocean tides. When the moon first appears on the horizon the tides retreat, and where does the water go?....into the moon, thus making the moon actually larger when at the horizon. When the moon is straight over head it can no longer hold onto the water ,and releases it back to the oceans and thus the rise ...[text shortened]... time and the actual shrinking of the moon. Case closed. It's just a case of logical reasoning.

KRIST! And after all that money NASA spent going to the moon and all along we could have done it in a rowboat! It might explain the Burmuda Triangle too! All those ships gone, not to the bottom....🙂