Why does the moon look big during a full moon day?

Answer 1

Because the light source illuminating the Moon is the Sun, so we're here on the Earth, and the Moon is going around the Earth, but all the light comes from the SUN, way over THERE.

You can see it for yourself. Put a very bright light at one end of a big room, with all the other lights turned off. Stand at the OTHER end of the room. Hold a Basketball at arms length, and then slowly turn around. You'll see the "phases" of the basketball as you turn, with the light coming from over THERE, while you are right HERE.
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Answer 2

IN The Bible it states that God made two great lights, one to rule the day, and one to rule the night. (sun+moon) Which states that the moon gives off its own light. The reason why the moon is not always full is because Gods months, go by how the moon phases are. Not by our modern months. Also moonths/months

Answer 3

That is because, just like Earth, the moon has an orbit it goes in. The moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle around Earth, but more of an oval. Sometimes, the moon is in perigeum, which means it is 50 000 kilometers closer to Earth than usual, and this makes it look bigger.

When the moon looks really small is when it is in apogeum.

Answer 4

50% (half) of the moon's surface is always illuminated by the sun. When the moon

is in just the right position in its orbital trip around the Earth, we're able to see the

entire lighted half.

Answer 5

The reflection of sunlight off of the moon's surface can only be seen when the earth is in the path of the reflected light. Essentially when the moon is not full, you see part of the moon that is in shadow. This is the same as looking at a part of the earth where it is night time, from space.

Answer 6

If you look at the moon when it's full, you'll see that it appears bigger when it's near the horizon, but appears to shrink as it ascends in the sky. It's an illusion. When the moon is partially obscured by some trees, our brains compare the sizes and make the moon appear larger than when it's higher in the sky and nothing is blocking it.

Answer 7

The Moon isn't "full", or "fully illuminated" all the time because the light that shines on the Moon is the Sun. The "full" Moon is daytime on the Moon.

As the Moon goes around the Earth, we see the Moon go from daytime to evening to night time. The "new" moon is midnight on the Moon.

If we lived on the Moon - WHEN we live on the Moon! - we'll see the Earth go through the same "phases".

Answer 8

The moon is closer than other celestial bodies in the solar system, save a few stray asteroids once in a while, and is also quite large in its own right. Hence, it appears large as it is close and large.

Answer 9

There are two reasons why the Moon sometimes appears to be closer, and at other times farther away.

The first reason is that sometimes the Moon IS closer; the Moon is in an elliptical orbit and swings between 230,000 miles and 270,000 miles. This difference would be noticed ever so slightly each night over the course of about 27 days.

The second reason has to do with one or possibly two optical illusions and the difference is noticeable in a single evening. When near the horizon, you perceive the Moon - or any other object on the horizon that appears to be near known objects (buildings and such) - as being bigger and closer than it is. If you make a cutout just big enough to frame the moon when the cutout is held at arm's length, you will see that the same amount of frame is filled when the moon is near horizon and when it is high in the sky. Yet, remove the cutout frame and the illusion persists. This Moon Illusion was first described in the 7th century B.C. (see Hershenson,Maurice Eugene, ed. The Moon Illusion. Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 1989.)

Also, possibly at play, when the Moon is very close to the horizon, the atmospheric refraction magnifies the Moon's light -- however, even accurate telescopes cannot see the difference of this effect so it probably doesn't affect human vision.

Did you see the Full Moon in January 2009 or in December 2008? Those were "perigee full moons", when the illusion enhances the fact that the Moon was at its closest approach. The Moon those months did LOOK enormous, but in fact was only about 15% bigger than it normally is.

Answer 10

The moon's orbit is not perfectly circular, so it is sometimes closer to the Earth than it is at other times. This is not to be confused with the effect of the atmosphere on a rising or setting moon, which increases its apparent size.

2nd Answer:

The correct answer is that the moon is always the same size . . . but at full moon when the moon is just rising, it looks startlingly larger since your eye is comparing its size to trees and houses on the horizon.

When the moon is in the sky, there is nothing to compare its size to, and it looks (But is not) smaller).

Prove it to yourself. Next time you see a "huge" full moon rising, stick a couple of pieces of tape or sticky notes so they appear the just barely touch the left and right edges of the moon. After the moon has risen well into the sky, do the same thing, again. Now, measure between the first two pieces of tape with a ruler, and you will find exactly the same measurement between the second two pieces. The moon may appear different sizes, but it is not!