Do the moon and sun appear larger on the horizon, or is it just me?
Asked by: Jon Reimer
Answer
This is an interesting question because there is
no universal agreement on the answer. An
interesting experiment that you can perform is
when you see a large full moon near the horizon,
turn around facing away from it. Then bend over
and look at the moon between your legs. Most
people see it as a normal size. For a full
discussion of the various theories see the
following URL:
'The mathematician's patterns, like the painter's or the poets, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.'