I can Google with the best of ’em,so here’s an explanation from a site called Windows to the universe –
Why does the moon or the sun look bigger at the horizon than when overhead? Two effects cause the Sun and Moon to seem bigger near the horizon. One is an optical illusion – these objects seem larger because you have trees, buildings, etc. to compare them to.
The other effect is due to the fact that near the horizon, the light of the Sun or Moon is passing through more atmosphere than at higher altitudes. Imagine yourself standing on the surface of the Earth, with the atmosphere as a sphere around the Earth, centered at the Earth’s center. The distance through the atmosphere above you *must* be shorter than the distance through the atmosphere to either side (the horizons). The refraction, or bending, of the light of the Sun and Moon by the atmosphere is therefore greater at the horizon. More refraction means the more spreading out of light and so they appear larger.
No, I don’t understand it either. But they’re selling jewellery on the website,so it was worth looking.
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