See a Huge Moon Illusion Tonight

As the full moon rises this Wednesday evening, June 18, many people will be tricked into thinking it's unusually large


The moon illusion, as it's known, is a trick in our minds that makes the moon seem bigger when it's near the horizon. The effect is most pronounced at full moon. Many people swear it's real, suggesting that perhaps Earth's atmosphere magnifies the moon.


But it really is all in our minds. The moon is not bigger at the horizon than when overhead.


The illusion will be particularly noticeable at this "solstice moon," coming just two days before summer starts in the Northern Hemisphere. The reason, according to NASA, lies in lunar mechanics: The sun and full moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging moon and a strong, long-lasting version of the illusion.

Moonrise times vary by location. On Wednesday, it will come up at these local times at these locations, according to NASA: New York City, 8:58 p.m.; Miami, 8:35 p.m.; Seattle, 9:51 p.m.

Additional moonrise times for your location are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory Web site.

More at link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080...onwednesday;_ylt=AsJeFNKysVb0SD.s1IRhBiOs0NUE

How long will it last? Is it a pretty quick thing since they are giving times?

Cool, I will have to check it out. Thanks for posting!

Im anxiously awaiting the solar eclipse in August too, I love teaching my daughter about the changes with the sun and the moon.

Thanks for the heads up DK.
Sounds exciting. My family and I will sit outside and watch.

Just what we need!

The sky is falling!

Well shoot. I didn't see this until too late. Too bad we can't have "instant replay" for things like this!

Oh dear! i missed it.

hey ho, i'm getting ready for Midsummer's Night on Saturday so i'll look for magic then.

I kept trying to go see it, but I guess we have too many trees and hills around us. Moonrise was supposed to be at 9:16, but when I finally gave up and went to bed about 10 I still couldn't see the moon anywhere (on a beautiful clear night).

Weird, huh?