| From: Sheryl & Carl | 11/02/99
11:44:12 |
| Subject: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
867 |
| Because when you look at the sun
on the horizon you are looking through a thicker section of atmosphere
therefore there are more water particles and that creates a magnifying
effect. When you look at the sun directly above, the sun will appear smaller because you are looking though less atmosphere. It is all an optical illusion caused by the water in the atmosphere and the angle you are viewing the sun through. | |
| From: Byron Wilding | 11/02/99
11:49:19 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
870 |
| Not water particles, it's fully
to do with size constancy. Rebecca was on the right track! It the same as the Ponzo illusion - the two equal length horizontal lines between the railway tracks. The higher one appears longer due to visual cues and constancy. Rebecca referred tho the relative size hypothesis, making the moon appear larger due to the visual cues on the horizon. bye! | |
| From: yvette | 11/02/99
11:55:38 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
874 |
| The sun looks bigger on the
horizonis a psychological phenomenon. This phenomenon is knowen as the
moon illusion.A text book of mine describes it as an interplay between
percieved size and pecieved distance. one reason to why the sun/moon seems bigger on the horizon is because"cues to the objects ' distances at the horizon make the moon/sun seem further away. Thus, the moon/sun on the horizon seeems larger." (david.G Myers pg 191) | |
| From: Melina Ellis | 11/02/99
12:10:30 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
881 |
| Firstly the sun's actual size
obviously does not alter when seen on the horizon to when it's seen in the
middle of the sky at noon. The sun is dwarfed or overwhelmed by the 180 degrees of the sky say at noon so is looks much smaller to when it is near the horizon and there are objects to which we can compare it's size to. further comments on this matter are welcomed at my email address: cassiopeia_160@hotmail.com -thanks | |
| From: Horace | 11/02/99
12:37:03 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
892 |
| Right, I'm sick of hearing a
million times over that the sun just looks bigger on the horizon because
the trees make an illusion etc, etc. I want to hear about some
measurements that have been made. Karl said it should appear smaller due to refraction, does this show up in the measurements? | |
| From: Dr. Ed G (Avatar) | 11/02/99
13:08:30 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
908 |
| The experiment is trivial. Take a
picture of the moon high in the sky. Then take a picture of the moon near
the horizon. Then compare the two. So long as you used the same focal
length setting on your camera (I suggest if you've got a zoom you should
set it all the way in or all the way out) the images you get back from the
photolab will be identical in size. Soupie twist, Ed G. | |
| From: Cass | 13/02/99
14:21:08 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
1121 |
| Why are you people all looking at
the sun for?? Didn't your mother ever tell you it will make you go
blind?! | |
| From: jim bashford | 13/02/99
15:42:39 |
| Subject: re: Why the sun looks bigger on the horizon | post id:
1133 |
| I read about a German eccentric,
Gustav Fechner, who got interested in studying the after-images you get from looking at bright things. In 1841 he looked at the midday sun for some seconds and partially got his sight back in 1846. cheers Jim | |