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Illusion of Moon Size Many of us have probably noticed that the Moon seems to appear larger near the horizon than when overhead. A number of articles have simply concluded that our unconscious comparison with the foreground landscape makes the horizon Moon appear larger. This is somewhat an over simplification. A recent article "Explaining the moon illusion" (Oct 25, 1999) by Lloyd Kaufman and James H. Kaufman contains an excellent write up of this phenomenon albeit a little technical. (See below for more articles). Moon Distance From Earth For the period 1990-2020:- For the period 1500-2500:- During 20th Century:- Source: Meeus "Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets" pg. 404. Other Information Sources The following are interesting sources of information regarding the Moon's size and alternative explanation of the Moon's illusion. The Moon Illusion Explained ( Don McCready, Professor Emeritus, Psychology Department, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI 53190). This is another excellent article with fairly simple and detailed explanation that a layman can easily understand. It also explain why conventional explanation is flawed because they were based upon a mistaken assumption ..... go read the article!. Experiment in Perception: The Ponzo Illusion and the Moon. -(UnMuseum). This article explains the optical illusion called the Ponzo Illusion, named after Mario Ponzo who first demonstrated it in 1913. This explanation is a variant of the foreground comparison method. New Thoughts on Understanding the Moon Illusion ( Carl J. Wenning, Physics Department, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61761.) Another explanation via the Ponzo illusion.
If you hunger for more, then follow the links / references contained in the above articles. |
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