'Saturday's Full Moon Offers Strange Illusion '

[infinitely free]

When low on the horizon, the Moon can appear to be larger than when it's higher in the sky. It's all an illusion, scientists say, and it does not involve any enlarging effects of the atmosphere. Rather, it's all in your mind.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070629/sc_space/saturdaysfullmoonoffersstrangeillusion

[lookfar]

Hi infinitely free

Thanks for sharing, it's also reminded me to put my crystals out for charging :)

Be good if this rain would stop so I could actually see the moon tonight!

[ashyr]

likewise. hehe raining here 2

[garth]

Cool link Infinitely free, always wondered why the Moon appeared bigger on the Horizon, now i know why. Sorta backs up the illusionary nature of our reality, our brain's can play such tricks on us, collectively.

When low on the horizon, the Moon can appear to be larger than when it's higher in the sky. It's all an illusion, scientists say, and it does not involve any enlarging effects of the atmosphere. Rather, it's all in your mind.

Here's how it works:

Our brains think things on the horizon are farther away than stuff overhead, because we're used to seeing overhead clouds that are close compared to those on the horizon. In the mind's eye, the sky is a flattened dome.

With this dome as a reference, we expect something on the horizon (such as the moon) to be father, and because it is actually no farther than when overhead, our brains goof and imagine that it is larger.

[graflok]

There are actually a number of explanations given for this moon thing.

Personally, being a conscientious conspiracy theorist, I don't believe any of them. :)