Foo - Summer Moon Illusion

NASA Science News for June 20, 2005:

The lowest-hanging full moon in 18 years is going to play tricks on your brain this week.



FULL STORY at:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/20jun_moonillusion.htm?list55266

Check out the RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml.

Cool! Thanks, but where were you yesterday. We already missed a day ;)

Better late than never!

:D

really neat stuff! I had assumed that the moon looked bigger cuz of it was closer in it's orbit... just a total guess, I never studied astronomy or what have you.

At 4:15 this morning, my wife woke me up and asked, in a scared voice, "What is that big light?" Bleary eyed, I looked out our window. "The moon, dear." Too bad life isn't like the movies, or it could have been a morning like the one in _Moonstruck_. ;)

really neat stuff! I had assumed that the moon looked bigger cuz of it was closer in it's orbit... just a total guess, I never studied astronomy or what have you.

It'd have to be a lot closer distance wise for you to perceive any sort of size increase/decrease. The orbit isn't perfectly circular, but then again it's not off so much that you actually see the difference.

The other anomaly if you beileve that, is that it happens to you only when the moon is near the horizon, not when it's further up. For others when it's high up for you, it might be close to the horizon...

You get the point.

It'd have to be a lot closer distance wise for you to perceive any sort of size increase/decrease. The orbit isn't perfectly circular, but then again it's not off so much that you actually see the difference.

The other anomaly if you beileve that, is that it happens to you only when the moon is near the horizon, not when it's further up. For others when it's high up for you, it might be close to the horizon...

You get the point.
Yeah, I've taken plenty of physics and advanced maths... I just never gave a moment's thought about it *shrugs*

People are probably acting quite strange these few days cuz of it. Beware of werewolves ;)

*starts humming Werewolves of London*

I thought i was tripping last night or something.

I thought i was tripping last night or something.

I thought I was having flashbacks.

The thing was huge and red/orange for a few minutes when it 1st rose out of the eastern horizon right after sunset last night. I was driving home from work at the time, so when I got home about 1/2 hour later, it wasn't nearly as big, the illusion seemed to last for only about 5-10 minutes. Skies here should clear-up by the time it rises tonight --- hopefully I'll have my camera ready.

Did anyone else see a blurry ring around it, or is it just me. I didn't catch it at sunset, went out about 11:30. I'll remember this evening.

Did anyone else see a blurry ring around it, or is it just me. I didn't catch it at sunset, went out about 11:30. I'll remember this evening.

You may want to try it again when you're sober. :)

You may want to try it again when you're sober. :)


No ring around it when we rode home from the bar last night...

Those sort of things are neat.

If you really want to have your mind blown, consider this riddle. It gets even wierder when you hear the explanation.

Why do mirrors reverse things left to right and not top to bottom?

Those sort of things are neat.


Why do mirrors reverse things left to right and not top to bottom?

Because, in reality, we're all walking upside down?

Those sort of things are neat.

If you really want to have your mind blown, consider this riddle. It gets even wierder when you hear the explanation.

Why do mirrors reverse things left to right and not top to bottom?
total guess... cuz we don't have eyes on our forehead and chin?

Those sort of things are neat.

If you really want to have your mind blown, consider this riddle. It gets even wierder when you hear the explanation.

Why do mirrors reverse things left to right and not top to bottom?


If for some reason this confuses you just go place your hand flat on a mirror. It is then quite aparrent why the reflection is the way it is.

If for some reason this confuses you just go place your hand flat on a mirror. It is then quite aparrent why the reflection is the way it is.


Alright I'm an Idiot, its not aparrent why. Its apparent that my hand could not be upside down, but not, why its not.

If for some reason this confuses you just go place your hand flat on a mirror. It is then quite aparrent why the reflection is the way it is.

The crux of it all is why our intuitive perception is that it is reversing left to right and not top to bottom. Obviously, physically speaking it is reflecting directly back which makes the above even more interesting.

The crux of it all is why our intuitive perception is that it is reversing left to right and not top to bottom. Obviously, physically speaking it is reflecting directly back which makes the above even more interesting.


Alright, plain ****ing english ;) !
One more time, please . Speak slowly, I'm stoned. :D

Alright, plain ****ing english ;) !
One more time, please . Speak slowly, I'm stoned. :D

That wasn't the answer, it was just getting the point back on track.

In other words, putting our hand against the mirror doesn't help explain why it "feels" to us when looking at a mirror that things are reversing right to left and not up and down.

That wasn't the answer, it was just getting the point back on track.

In other words, putting our hand against the mirror doesn't help explain why it "feels" to us when looking at a mirror that things are reversing right to left and not up and down.


AAAAHHHH! Thanks for clarifiying!



(buy the way, where is spell check on this forum)

enough of the riddles already --- they're as frustrating as crossword puzzles (but not as boring).

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/mirrors.html

The reason why seems simple but if you fullly explore it, it's actually an amazing insight into how we think and how much assumption is required for even the most simple of observations. There's even so much fundamental assumption going on in your brain that the answer seems ridiculously trivial to some at first.

To say something is reversed left to right or up and down means our brain has to compare it to something. And what your brain compares it to is essentially its assumption of you walking around behind the mirror (i.e. pivoting along a vertical axis as we normally would).

If your brain was trained to think that you would instead of walking around the mirror horizontally to face yourself that you would instead walk up and over the mirror to turn head down facing yourself (pivoting along a horizontal axis as we virtually never do), it would perceive the mirror as reversing top to bottom but not left to right.

If your brain was free of assumption, it would simply see the reflection as a direct one to one reflection of each point as in Chanmans' hand example.

And LordOpie's post was close. It's not necessary a result of having our eyes next to each other, but both the mirror perception and the fact that our eyes are next to each other are both results themselves of us living in a horizontally oriented world.

Cool!
Now tell me why I'm upside down in a spoon.

Linear convergence of a concave reflection. There will reach a thereical point at which your reflection would be but a point of light as you get closer to the surface of the spoon.

Cool!
Now tell me why I'm upside down in a spoon.

You're very small and you've had too much to drink?

There is no spoon ;)

(its a matrix thing)

enough of the riddles already --- they're as frustrating as crossword puzzles (but not as boring).

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/mirrors.html


:eek: I love crossword puzzles!!! Chicago Tribune and the Chicago magazine in sundays edition.
And you have to love the TV guide one :D

Linear convergence of a concave reflection. There will reach a thereical point at which your reflection would be but a point of light as you get closer to the surface of the spoon.


Thank You!!! :)



And you other smarta$$'s, I said stoned, not drunk.

13 years sober

speaking of illusions..

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg http://www.ebaumsworld.com/images/spinningspirals.jpg

Aren't those cool, theres others like it. My sister sends them to me all the time.

I wish I knew how to post images like that.

:eek: I love crossword puzzles!!! Chicago Tribune and the Chicago magazine in sundays edition.
And you have to love the TV guide one :D

I don't like them because I suck at them :cry: . Plus, if it's something I can't figure out in less than 20 seconds, then it's something I'm not gonna do (unless I'm getting paid to do it, ie: my job).

Aren't those cool, theres others like it. My sister sends them to me all the time.

I wish I knew how to post images like that.

1. right click and image and click proporties, copy the url and paste it into your post

2. put image tags on both ends of the URL "URL"

What do you see here?
Do you see the word "LIFT"?
Or, a bunch of black splotches ?

Girls Are Able To Spot The Word "lift" Easily.
Men Find It Difficult To See The Word "lift"!!!

Thank You!!! :)



And you other smarta$$'s, I said stoned, not drunk.

13 years sober


Yer welcome, wanna share the wealth? A friend w/ weed is a friend indeed! :D

Yer welcome, wanna share the wealth? A friend w/ weed is a friend indeed! :D


I don't think its possible, your 1.7 million miles from me :D

I don't think its possible, your 1.7 million miles from me :D



No, not really. The 1.7 million miles reference is the distance from Uranus to Earth. Probably more like 500 or 600. I'm at the east edge of PA

You could always fax it or eMail it as an attachment :lol:

No, not really. The 1.7 million miles reference is the distance from Uranus to Earth. Probably more like 500 or 600. I'm at the east edge of PA

You could always fax it or eMail it as an attachment :lol:


If it were only that easy.


Oh I see Uranus not my anus, my bad. :)

No, not really. The 1.7 million miles reference is the distance from Uranus to Earth. Probably more like 500 or 600. I'm at the east edge of PA

You could always fax it or eMail it as an attachment :lol:


umm, i think he was trying to say hes at "ur"anus.

What do you see here?


Dead people.

I wish I had read that earlier

Girls Are Able To Spot The Word "lift" Easily.
Men Find It Difficult To See The Word "lift"!!!


Are you calling me a girl?

Girls Are Able To Spot The Word "lift" Easily.
Men Find It Difficult To See The Word "lift"!!!

I saw blocks but then as soon as I saw the word LIFT in your post I was able to easily see it in the image.

Does that mean I'm a latent homosexual?

Nawwwww maybe transgender but undecided

Did anyone else see a blurry ring around it, or is it just me. I didn't catch it at sunset, went out about 11:30. I'll remember this evening.

Those are caused by high alt, thin wispy clouds.

Mirrors reserse FRONT to BACK, not left to right.

When you reverse front to back, right and left are reversed, but not up and down.

Was there a moon somewhere in this mirror discussion? ;)

From last night:

Peeking up over the clouds.
http://www.naputi.com/moc.jpg

Later on, higher in the sky.
http://www.naputi.com/ind.jpg

This was from the 21st. Not very focused, but the color was amazing:
http://www.naputi.com/stuft/pic/blood.jpg

Cool! Those are great.

Those are caused by high alt, thin wispy clouds.


Thank You! :)