If you ever had to watch the sunrise or sunset night lights, then surely at this moment your attention is attracted by its unusual color and size.Why the moon is red and large, when it is near the horizon?If the size is somehow possible to explain the optical illusion associated with the refraction of light, how to be with bright orange hue?In the old days, when people were still not so literate, to understand why the red moon at certain times, unusual color regarded as a grim omen of terrible events.And what in our time scientists explain this phenomenon?
Metamorphosis color
If you look at satellite of the Earth from space (strain the imagination does not need to - the astronauts have long made him pictures), then we will appear light gray ball, great sunlight.Astronauts are not scratching their heads over why the moon red as the color of the satellite change only in the case if you look at it from the earth's surface.When the night light is just beginning to rise over the horizon, it looks like a big orange circle.Our planet revolves around its axis.The moon rises above the horizon, and its color changes.First orange hue becomes yellow, and after some time - in white and yellow.When the moon takes over the position of head of the observer, it almost becomes a light gray.Naturally, in reality, the satellite of the Earth does not change its color.The secret is that we look at it shining through the atmosphere, and this is just like looking at something through the veil.
Why is the moon red in the morning?
Before the reflected light from the satellite to reach our eyes, he must pass through the air consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases.They, along with the smallest particles of dust, smoke and other pollutants will inevitably change the spectral composition of light, significantly shifting it toward the red.That is why a red moon in the early time of the day.This effect is particularly noticeable in windy, sultry weather or during fires when microscopic soil particles entrained up and, without having to settle for hours stuck in the atmosphere.There is another explanation of why the moon is red.It consists in that the range of short-wave solar rays upon reaching the Earth scattered and long wavelength pass through the atmosphere and are reflected by the earth satellite.That they give luminary night red.
Why the moon sometimes seems huge?
Some of the photos can be seen that the Earth's satellite, while over the horizon, it looks incredibly large.Sometimes this phenomenon can be seen, and himself, and, therefore, to say that the size of the moon artificially inflated in the pictures, is not necessary.Explanation of this fact there are a few.Firstly, this optical illusion is associated with an interesting feature of the human eye - irradiation: bright light figures on a dark background always seem more than their actual size.Secondly, according to the theory proposed in the 60-ies.James Rock and Lloyd Kaufman, our brains are somehow "believes" that the form of the heavenly dome is not correct, as it were flattened hemisphere.For this reason, the objects appear on the horizon larger than those found at the zenith.And despite the fact that the eye observes a constant angular size of the Moon (about 0.5 degrees), the brain automatically compensates for the distance, and we get an enlarged image of the observed object.However, scientists have not yet decided which of the proposed theory is the most plausible.
