Moon in Perspective

Ever noticed how big the moon looks when it pops up over the horizon? You get a sense that it's a huge disc and looks so much bigger right at the horizon than it does hours later high above in the night sky. See what I mean:

The looming moonrise. Pretty sweet.

I was taught a trick though, a trick that helps trick your brain back into seeing the truth. At the horizon with the buildings and trees around, the moon looks bigger to our brains because of its line of sight relative to the ground.

It turns out that the moon never changes size (uhh, yeah), and one way to tell is to use the finger pinch trick. Extend your fingers to arm's length and make a pinching motion, like this:

Later on in the night, higher in the sky the moon will be in the exact same proportion to your fingers. My camera had a hard time with the darkness, and when I figure out how to get that picture, I'll show it off. You don't need to take my word for it, you can try it out yourself. It'll work.