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Why do the moon and sun appear to be the same size?

Updated: 8/17/2019
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13y ago

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Although the Sun is roughly about 400 times larger than the Moon, it's also

roughly about 400 times farther away from us. Since the Moon is closer to us

then the Sun is, they appear to be the same size from where we are.

Here's an experiment you can do with things you already have around the house,

that will demonstrate this idea:

The sun's diameter is about 54,740,000,000 times bigger than the end of your thumb,

but the sun also happens to be about 54,740,000,000 arm's lengths away from your face.

So if you close one eye and adjust the position of your hand carefully, you can just exactly

cover the sun with the end of your thumb. In other words, the end of your thumb will appear to be the same size as the disk of the Sun.

IMPORTANT - NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY - IT WILL PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR EYESIGHT - DO THE EXPERIMENT ABOVE USING THE FULL MOON. (The full Moon is 136,850,000 times bigger then the end of your thumb but is 136,850,000 arms lengths away so your thumb will appear the same size as the disk of the full Moon).

However, note that the Moon is in an elliptical orbit, and moves closer to and away from the Earth in its orbit. When the Moon is at perigee, the Moon appears to be larger than the Sun, and when the Moon is at apogee, it appears smaller. Thus with certain solar eclipses the Moon is smaller than the Sun and a "annular" eclipse happens.

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Q: Why do the moon and sun appear to be the same size?
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Related questions

Is the sun and the moon the same size why do they appear to be the same size?

They appear to be the same size, as the sun is a very long distance away. The sun is many times larger than the moon.


Why do the sun and moon appear to be the same in size and shape?

The sun is approximately 400 times the size of the moon, however, it is also approximately 400 times farther away. This relationship cancels out and makes the sun and the moon appear observationally to be the same size on earth.


Which statement best explains why the sun and the moon appear to be about the same size in the atmosphere?

The sun and the moon are the same distance from the earth


Why does the sun and the moon apper to be the same size?

Even tho the Moon is much smaller than the Sun, they appear to be the same size in the say, because the Moon is so much closer to the earth.


Why does the moon appear the same size as the sun even though you know the moon is much smaller than the sun?

The sun is more distant, if 2 objects are the same size, and one is very far and one is very close, the more distant one will appear smaller.However, the sun's much larger size compensates for the greater distance, so they will appear to look identical in size.Or they are somewhat the same size and somewhat equal distance away from the Earth.The moon is 400 times smaller than the sun and the sun is 400 times further away from earth.


Why does the moon appear to be the same size as the earth?

You would need to be in a very special spot ... or so far away that both of them appeared to simply be points of light ... in order for the Moon to appear to be the same size as the Earth.Perhaps you meant "why does the Moon appear to be the same size as the Sun" (when seen from Earth), and the answer is ... there isn't any deep reason why this should be the case, it just happens to be true. Strictly speaking it's only true now: in the distant past the Moon appeared larger than the Sun, and in the distant future the Moon will appear smaller than the Sun. By happenstance we (and by "we" I really mean "human civilization", because this is not changing very fast at all) happen to be living in the time when the Moon and the Sun appear to be roughly the same size.


What mathematical equation would you use to explain why the sun and the moon appear to be the same size?

The moon is farther away from the sun. The mathematical equation would probably pie.


Why sun and moon looks like same size from earth?

Well the moon is smaller and closer, and the sun is larger and further away. We all know that the further away an object is the smaller it appears; it's just miraculous that the Earth, Moon and Sun are spaced apart at the perfect distances for the moon to appear almost exactly the same size as the sun.


Why do the sun and moon appear to be the same size when viewed from earth?

no actually the moon is larger than the sun when being viewed especially when the moon is at its full or full moon because it is much nearer to us than the sun.


How can you tell the sun and the moon are the same distance from earth?

On average, the Moon is about 240,000 miles away from the Earth.The Sun, however, is about 93 million miles away from the Earth.Though the Moon and the Sun appear to be about the same size from Earth, the Sun is actually much larger, and much farther away.


Is the sun and moon the same size?

no the moon is bigger than the sun The sun is over 400 times bigger than the moon but since the moon is a lot closer to us than the sun and moon look the same size.


Why the sun and the moon appear to be about that same size in the sky?

The truthful answer to that? It is nothing more than a rather amazing coincidence! Really!