09/26/2026
🌕 Why does tonight’s Harvest Moon look so enormous?
When the Moon rises beside trees, rooftops, or distant hills, your brain has familiar objects to compare it with. That can make it seem much larger than it does high in the open sky. Scientists call this the Moon illusion; exactly how our brains create it is still debated. The Moon itself hasn’t suddenly grown.
Here’s a fun test: photograph the Moon near the horizon, then take another picture later using the same zoom setting. Compare its width in both photos. Your eyes may tell you it was gigantic at moonrise, even when the pictures show nearly the same size.
And that beautiful orange color? That’s a separate effect. Near the horizon, moonlight passes through more of Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters away more blue light before it reaches your eyes.
Look toward the eastern horizon around sunset tonight. Does the Harvest Moon look bigger—or more orange—where you are? 🍂
