The Moon Illusion: Why Does the Moon Look So Big Sometimes?
Jan 24, 2023 · The Moon illusion is the name for this trick our brains play on us. Photographs prove that the Moon is the same width near the horizon as when it's high in the sky, but that's not what we perceive with our eyes. Thus it's an illusion …
In Depth | Asiasat 3/HGS-1 – NASA Solar System Exploration
Dec 24, 1997 · The Moon Illusion: Why Does the Moon Look So Big Sometimes? The next full Moon will be Friday evening, Jan. 6, 2023, at 6:08 PM EST. The Moon will appear full from Thursday evening through Sunday morning.
In Depth – NASA Solar System Exploration
Why does the Moon look so big when it's rising or setting? The Moon illusion is the name for this trick our brains play on us.
In Depth | Mars – NASA Solar System Exploration
Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky – it looks like a bright red point of light. Despite being inhospitable to humans, robotic explorers – like NASA's new Perseverance rover – are serving as pathfinders to eventually get humans to the surface of the Red Planet.
In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts are in sunlight or darkness at different times. The changing illumination is why, from our perspective, the Moon goes through phases. During a "full moon," the hemisphere of the Moon we can see from Earth is fully illuminated by the Sun.
In Depth | Saturn Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration
Moon Mysteries Managed. Enceladus and Titan get a lot of attention, but the Cassini mission also provided countless insights about dozens of Saturn’s other moons. Cassini captures the first high-resolution glimpse of the bright trailing hemisphere of Saturn's moon Iapetus. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
In Depth | Titan – NASA Solar System Exploration
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is an icy world whose surface is completely obscured by a golden hazy atmosphere. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system. Only Jupiter's moon Ganymede is larger, by just 2 percent. Titan is bigger than Earth's moon, and larger than even the planet Mercury.
In Depth | Triton – NASA Solar System Exploration
Triton is the largest of Neptune's 13 moons. It is unusual because it is the only large moon in our solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet's rotation―a retrograde orbit. Scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt Object captured by Neptune's gravity millions of years ago.
In Depth | Uranus Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration
Oberon, the outermost of the five major moons, is old, heavily cratered, and shows little signs of internal activity. Unidentified dark material appears on the floors of many of its craters. Cordelia and Ophelia are shepherd moons that keep Uranus' thin, outermost "epsilon" ring well defined.
In Depth | Jupiter – NASA Solar System Exploration
Jupiter's stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter is surrounded by dozens of moons.