Analemma of the moon

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
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p fox mullane
Asternaut
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 5:29 pm

Analemma of the moon

Post by p fox mullane » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:52 pm

Today's APOD shows the analemma of the moon. The thing that struck me was that the apparent size of the moon is the same on the horizon as it is high in the sky. Several APOD's in the past have mentioned the mystery of why the moon looks bigger on the horizon than in the sky. However, in this photo the full moon just above the horizon looks to be the same size as the moon almost directly above it.

William Roeder
Ensign
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:46 pm

Post by William Roeder » Thu Jul 14, 2005 5:37 pm

The moon looking bigger on the horizon is an illusion as the pictures show. You can Goggle "moon paradox" for background.

Here's a 25 page explanation The Moon Illusion

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