The Bigger Moon Illusion

Perhaps many people were deceived into thinking that the full moon on the horizon last Wednesday was strangely bigger. It is actually the moon illusion that makes it seems larger when near the horizon. Many people suppose it’s true, thinking that the moon is perhaps magnified by the Earth’s atmosphere.

Because we are accustomed to seeing clouds only a few miles overhead but clouds touching the horizon are hundreds of miles away, our minds induce us to believe that things on the horizon are farther than those above us. Hence if we notice the moon lower in the sky, it looks like farther and bigger. However, it’s all in our minds. The moon at the horizon is actually not bigger than it is when overhead. It’s the timing of the summer solstice and the full moon that affects the moon’s appearance as the sun and full moon are like children playing on a see-saw. When the sun is soaring in the sky, the moon stays lower which makes a long-lasting and bigger version of the illusion.

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