The moon has a unique visual property, which is that, looking at it from below, it seems to be less than when it is on the horizon. Previously, most scientists assumed that this phenomenon occurs on the basis of the theory of relative size, which is called "the illusion of Ebbinghaus".

The essence of this theory is that when the angular review of the moon man perceives it as objects that are close by, as well as the night sky most objects tiny size, and the size of the satellite we seem smaller. The situation is different for observation of the moon on the horizon, which looks great against the background of other objects: trees, mountains, etc.

Scientists from Susquehanna University demonstrated that the increase observed object on the background of other should not increase by more than 10%, and in conformity with the "illusion of Ebbinghaus" size of the moon is almost doubled.

Antonides and Kubot assume that the information is transmitted to the brain in two different visual ways. First - binocular vision, when the brain receives two identical images. In this case, the principle: the farther away an object is, the more similar images. The second way Vospominanie object depends on our perception of the world.

The celestial sphere, as we imagine it, is on the very long distances, as at that time the Sun, the Moon, etc. are in the foreground. The combination of the first and second method of perception gives the effect of distorting the objective of the size of the object, which leads to visual illusion.