Giant Moon

Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else has
seen a moon like this.

TWP

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:38:12 -0000, "TWP"
wrote:


Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.


The Moon Illusion. I'll bet the Moon was at or near the horizon, for
a start. It's a "real" phenomena, but of course, the Moon isn't
actually any larger at all. Simple experiments can show this. For
instance, use a coin at arms length, or better yet, take an actual
photograph.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion


http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/sze_moon/index.html


This doesn't detract from the pleasant affect that we all get from the
view.








As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else has
seen a moon like this.

TWP

--

Find out about Australia's most dangerous Doomsday Cult:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/wanglese/pebble.htm

"You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down."

"Maths proves you know how to plug in some figures into a formula, that's
all"
"Even physics is based on wrong theories, so what's the use of maths"
Carole - demonstrating her mathematical abilities.

On or about Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:38:12 -0000 did "TWP"
dribble thusly:


Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

[snip]

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

The different color all but guarantees that it in fact *was* near the
horizon (though I'd choose "orangish" to describe it at that
position), which brings you to the horizon illusion.

--
- Mike

Ignore the Python in me to send e-mail.

Mike Ruskai wrote in
:

On or about Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:38:12 -0000 did "TWP"
dribble thusly:


Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help
me with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The
moon also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

[snip]

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had
to have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I
was wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if
there was some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

The different color all but guarantees that it in fact *was* near the
horizon (though I'd choose "orangish" to describe it at that
position), which brings you to the horizon illusion.


I suppose the color could be referring to a lunar eclipse but that
wouldn't explain the apparent size. It's possible that the guy just
misremebered.

Klazmon.

"Wally AngleseaT" wrote in
message ...
On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:38:12 -0000, "TWP"
wrote:


Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help
me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.


The Moon Illusion. I'll bet the Moon was at or near the horizon, for
a start. It's a "real" phenomena, but of course, the Moon isn't
actually any larger at all. Simple experiments can show this. For
instance, use a coin at arms length, or better yet, take an actual
photograph.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion


http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/sze_moon/index.html


This doesn't detract from the pleasant affect that we all get from the
view.








As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was trying
to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock
to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life had
in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had
to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there
was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on
this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty
much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else
has
seen a moon like this.

TWP

--

Find out about Australia's most dangerous Doomsday Cult:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/wanglese/pebble.htm

"You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down."

"Maths proves you know how to plug in some figures into a formula, that's
all"
"Even physics is based on wrong theories, so what's the use of maths"
Carole - demonstrating her mathematical abilities.


It's elevation was about mid-point in the sky (roughly about the level of
the two upper stars in Orion), not the horizon. I obviously can't discount
that I've misremembered, but two people would have to have mis-remembered...
three actually, because my sister also remembered it when I told her, but I
could have contaminated her memory because I described the size of it to her
before I asked her if she remembered it.

I don't believe it was the moon illusion though. It either happened as
three people remembered it, or it's a testimony to the unreliability of
eye-witnesses!

TWP

On Wed, 1 Nov 2006 05:38:14 -0000, "TWP"
wrote:



It's elevation was about mid-point in the sky (roughly about the level of
the two upper stars in Orion), not the horizon. I obviously can't discount
that I've misremembered, but two people would have to have mis-remembered...
three actually, because my sister also remembered it when I told her, but I
could have contaminated her memory because I described the size of it to her
before I asked her if she remembered it.

I don't believe it was the moon illusion though. It either happened as
three people remembered it, or it's a testimony to the unreliability of
eye-witnesses!


It was the latter, I'm afraid.
--

Find out about Australia's most dangerous Doomsday Cult:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/wanglese/pebble.htm

"You can't fool me, it's turtles all the way down."

"Maths proves you know how to plug in some figures into a formula, that's
all"
"Even physics is based on wrong theories, so what's the use of maths"
Carole - demonstrating her mathematical abilities.

TWP wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else has
seen a moon like this.

TWP


Until you mentioned 1970's, I though maybe you were having a flashback
from a previous life as a primordial pond scum, seeing the moon when it
was only 14,000 miles from the Earth!

Double-A

"Double-A" wrote in message
ups.com...

TWP wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help
me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The
moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was
trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock
to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life
had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had
to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there
was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on
this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty
much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else
has
seen a moon like this.

TWP


Until you mentioned 1970's, I though maybe you were having a flashback
from a previous life as a primordial pond scum, seeing the moon when it
was only 14,000 miles from the Earth!

Double-A


I can't discount any explanation at this stage! :-)

I suppose the 1970's were a crazy time...

TWP

"Double-A" wrote in message
ups.com...

TWP wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can help
me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The
moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was
trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a shock
to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life
had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have had
to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if there
was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on
this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-) This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty
much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else
has
seen a moon like this.

TWP


Until you mentioned 1970's, I though maybe you were having a flashback
from a previous life as a primordial pond scum, seeing the moon when it
was only 14,000 miles from the Earth!

Double-A



This forum seems to mention a few people who have seen a giant moon too that
seem to match my unbelievable story: (sorry about the coloured labels, this
had to come from Google's cache)

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache...n&ct=clnk&cd=9

I know that it seems like a UFO story, but the moon did look as big as the
picture linked to in the first posted story (whether or not the image is
faked, that's very much how I remember it appearing), and in a post further
down someone mentions that they "thought the world was coming to an end".
That isn't an unfair description of what it looked like!

The talk of a Harvest Moon is also familiar - I remember being told when I
saw it that it was a Harvest Moon.

TWP

"TWP" wrote in message
...

"Double-A" wrote in message
ups.com...

TWP wrote:
Hello everyone. I'm not a regular here, but I really hope you can
help
me
with an explanation this, as I've had no luck hunting around the net.

I have a memory - which I thought until tonight was from a dream. I
was
taken by my father to see the moon, which that night wasn't it's
regular
size but was enormous - like looking at it through a telescope. The
moon
also wasn't it's regular white, but a pale pink-cream colour.

As I said, I though it was a dream until this afternoon when I was
trying to
remember the last time there was a full moon for Hallwe'en and my
father
asked if I remembered it, and described it's size. It was quite a
shock
to
realise something that I'd written off as a dream for most of my life
had in
fact really happened!

This wasn't an optical illusion caused by the moon being low in the
sky
either - for a start the moon was high in the sky, and it would have
had
to
have been an incredible illusion to make the moon seem THAT big! I
was
wondering - because of the washed-out pale and pink appearance if
there
was
some kind of atmospheric lens effect at work?

I promise that this is not a Hallowe'en hoax. It has just come up on
this
date because of a seperate discussion with someone.

I also wasn't drinking or taking any mind-altering substances :-)
This
happened in the mid to late 1970's, and I remember the moon was pretty
much
full.

Thanks for any help - I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone else
has
seen a moon like this.

TWP


Until you mentioned 1970's, I though maybe you were having a flashback
from a previous life as a primordial pond scum, seeing the moon when it
was only 14,000 miles from the Earth!

Double-A



This forum seems to mention a few people who have seen a giant moon too
that
seem to match my unbelievable story: (sorry about the coloured labels,
this
had to come from Google's cache)


http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache...n&ct=clnk&cd=9

I know that it seems like a UFO story, but the moon did look as big as the
picture linked to in the first posted story (whether or not the image is
faked, that's very much how I remember it appearing), and in a post
further
down someone mentions that they "thought the world was coming to an end".
That isn't an unfair description of what it looked like!

The talk of a Harvest Moon is also familiar - I remember being told when I
saw it that it was a Harvest Moon.

TWP




This poster (from above link) mentions the "Huge Moon Phenomena"

"Evo
06-16-2005, 06:29 PM
Yes, the "large Moon" is a myth. The Moon's size does not change appreciably
at any time (though it does change a small amount due to its elliptical
orbit, you'd have to be pretty perceptive to notice). The large moon is
indeed an optical delusion, caused by the brain's interpretation of objects
when it has a reference to compare them to - such as objects on the horizon.
That's the common explanation called the Ponzo effect or illusion.

The moon can appear unusually large without any objects being visible to
compare it with. The time my daughter and I saw that HUGE moon, there was
nothing but clear land as far as the eye can see. It's something you won't
understand until you see one for yourself. No, the moon doesn't get
physically larger, it's a special set of conditions that makes it appear
larger, like a huge magnifying lens. In this instance, the moon does
actually occupy more space in your "sight", contrary to what I've read that
says if you measured it, it would be the same size as a normal size moon. I
rounded a corner and was shocked, the moon was covering half of the horizon,
it covered most of my rear view window. It startled me so much I gasped and
scared my daughter, who then turned around and saw it. I slowed down to
almost a complete stop it was so incredible.

The special atmospheric conditions must create some type of phenomena that
simulates looking through a magnifying glass. If you were to measure a fly
that was magnified ten times, the "magnified" fly you are seeing does
actually measure larger than the real unmagnified fly. It has nothing to do
with comparing other objects to it. I am quite sure the phenomena could be
photographed because it is atmospheric and not something created in the
brain. This isn't the "Ponzo effect", which is the normal moon on the
horizon optical illusion, this is something entirely different."