Tag: Moon Illusion

Atmospheric Spectral Shift

ryanLeave a comment
Why does the Sun seem red near the horizon? Why does the Moon do the same?  We know the Moon isn’t actually changing colour, and the Sun isn’t either.  So what is happening to the light? The first thing to note about the image above is that the size of the Moon doesn’t change, showing that the well-known ‘Moon Illusion,’ where the Moon appears larger near the horizon, is just that – an illusion.  The second is of course the gradual change in hue as the Moon rises. The reason for the colour shift really has nothing to do with the Moon...

1000 Things You Didn’t Know About The Universe #6: Earth’s Moon is Big

ryanLeave a comment
When we see the Earth’s only Moon up in the sky, we often think about how small it is.  It’s only about 1/4 the diameter of the Earth, and at a distance of 384,000 Km, it looks small in the sky.  But often size is entirely a matter of perspective.  What we compare something to, that’s what determines it’s size.  When the Moon is high in the sky we easily compare it to the size of the window we are looking through, or to a nearby tree, or our outstretched hand.  All of this can make the Moon seem pretty tiny....