Monday, December 28, 2009

This is the biggest and largest mass optical illusion.

When the moon is lower in the sky it appears bigger than when it's higher in the sky. This isn't the case. The moon in the sky is always the same size.

This is called the "moon illusion" and is well-documented. You can prove it by using a ruler to measure the moon as you extend your arm straight out. It will always measure the same size.

(Actually, technically the moon on the horizon looks about 1% smaller than an overhead moon due to atmospheric effects.)

The other day I was driving home and the moon looked HUGE in the sky. It's hard to believe that's just an optical illusion.

Another cool thing about the moon: it's the only object that every seeing human being has seen. Whether you're in China or America. Whether you lived now or thousands of years ago - everyone who wasn't blind has seen the moon - and the exact same side of the moon, the same face.

No other object is that popular, except maybe for the sun, but the surface of the sun is a changing mass of gas and fire. So it's not really the same "thing" that I saw yesterday, although it is the same overall object.

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