The Moon, which is responsible for the tides of our world and plays a major role in the continuity of life, has attracted and continues to attract the attention of everyone who is interested in astronomy from past to present. Thanks to the rapidly advancing technological developments, the projects aiming to reach its surface again are very close to yielding results.
However, the subject we will focus on in this content will not be about the fact that we set foot on the surface of the Moon again, but how it already appears from our world in misleading ways. In this context, it would be wrong to say that the Moon takes different shapes. Because it does not lose anything from its size or speed. For this reason, it is thought that some illusions cause this problem. Now let’s look at them together.
Let’s talk about a few illusions we are used to seeing on social media: First, the Ponzo illusion
When viewed from above, the Moon appears larger than when it is overhead. It is thought that perspective plays a role primarily in this. For example, imagine a straight road with trees of the same height on both sides. As you look ahead of this road, you will see that it narrows and the trees get smaller.
But you know that these trees are actually the same height, and the closer you get to them, the less their appearance will disappear. If you put two lines of the same length on the part of this tree-lined road closest to you and the part where it narrows, and try to look at them from afar, you can more easily see the trick your brain is playing on you. This is called the Ponzo illusion.
Could it be because the Moon appears large on the horizon because it is next to objects of comparable size? Next is the Ebbinghause illusion
This illusion, which was put forward by German Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghause, is when two objects of the same size are placed around two different sized objects, the difference in size between these two initially the same objects. it looks like it exists. We can say that this situation, which you can understand from the image above, is about how we record objects in our heads.
We write ‘big’ in our head with skyscrapers and tall buildings. When we look at these structures from a distance, we know that although they may seem small, we know that they are actually large, and the Moon standing behind them and appearing larger than themselves, therefore, appears to be larger on the horizon than when it is in the sky.
So if there is nothing around to compare the size of the Moon, do we see the Moon the same way in every location?
We’d like to call it true and end the mystery here, but it’s not just people living in cities or rural areas who say the Moon looks bigger on the horizon. Pilots and sailors who do not have objects to compare the Moon around report the same problem.
We see the sky as much closer than it actually is:
- Where the moon is and what we perceive
Amateur photographer Bob King, who is somehow interested in astronomy; He emphasizes that we perceive the horizon as far away and the sky much closer than it actually is. Think of these explanations like this: When you want to reach the Moon you see on the horizon, it feels like you will go forever.
On the other hand, the sky appears to be much lower than it actually is. In other words, according to these explanations, since the idea that ‘objects we see from a distance grow as they get closer’ is in our minds and we perceive the horizon region as being further away from the sky, such a misconception occurs.
We’re knocking on our last door that can help clear up the confusion: Convergent reduction
Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t explain why the Moon appears larger on the horizon. But it might help you understand why it looks small when it’s at the top. When you see the Moon on the horizon, you focus on what is far away. If this is an ocean, for example, when looking at the Moon, our brain also takes into account the far point of the ocean and realizes that we are looking far.
Since we see it this way from a distance, we think, “The moon must be big”. But when our satellite takes to the sky, there is no place to focus like the ocean or the mountain. And because focus doesn’t occur, the Moon doesn’t appear as far away from the horizon when it’s in the sky. This causes us to perceive it closer than normal and see it as if it is small.
Was there any need for such confusion? If the moon is in an elliptical orbit around the Earth, couldn’t it be growing as it gets closer to the planet?
In theory yes, practically no. In fact, in the practical part, yes, but even though there are periods when the Moon is close to the Earth, such a small growth is observed during these times that it is not even noticed. For this reason, it would not make much sense to attribute the Moon’s position on the horizon and in the sky to its proximity to the Earth.
Astronomers are still working on the exact reason why the Moon is so wrong. This state of misconception has confused scientists since ancient times.
Sources: Rationalist, Andrew Vanden Heuvel, Sky and Telescope
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