Why can the Moon appear tens of times larger than it is in many photos we see on the internet? Let’s explain how the Moon is shown larger without Photoshop.
The Moon, the only natural satellite of our planet, Even at its closest to Earth It is located at a distance of at least 356 thousand kilometers from the earth. The satellite, which has a diameter of 4 times smaller than our planet, takes its place as a point not very big in the huge sky when we look directly at it.
Well, when we look at the photos of the Moon, the Moon Why does it appear tens of times larger than we normally see? Although many people think that this is due to manipulations on the photo – and this is true for some photos – there is actually a different explanation for this.
Why does the moon look huge in photos?
The fact that the moon appears larger in the photos is almost entirely during the shooting of the photographer who took the photo in question. thanks to the techniques is happening. The position of the subject, namely the Moon, and the lens used in the camera are of great importance when taking lunar photos. How Does?
The relationship of the Moon with its surrounding objects is of great importance:
- Both Moons are the same size. But if we only look at the Moon on the right, our consciousness is positioning the Moon larger. The buildings in the image accompany the Moon on the left.
The number one factor that is taken into account in lunar shots, other than equipment, is the position of the Moon relative to the objects around it. The position of the Moon relative to surrounding objects causes the human eye to interpret the size of the Moon differently. The moon or any subject is perceived to be smaller if there are large objects around it, but when placed side by side with smaller objects. it looks bigger than it is.
- Ebbinghaus illusion, the orange dots are the same size.
In fact, this situation also causes the Moon to appear larger on the horizon. In this case, which has been discussed for many years, the Moon is alone in the sky or next to the clouds that seem bigger because it is close to us. can appear smaller. But when the Moon is near mountains or any other object on the horizon, it can appear much larger than normal. This is called the ‘Moon illusion’.
The camera makes the magic real:
The Moon illusion allows you to make the Moon look bigger even with just your smartphone, while different camera lenses can be used without even needing this illusion. It can help you make the moon look bigger.. Lunar photographers prefer high focal length lenses used for long distance shots.
The focal length, expressed in ‘mm’, is one of the most decisive factors in photographing, and the area where the lights entering the camera are collected and the sensor where these lights intersect. the distance between it states. The image narrows or widens as the distance between the sensor and the intersection area increases.
For many who are just starting out with moon photography at a focal length of at least 300mm While cameras with high resolution are recommended, those photos that we see everywhere and show the Moon huge are usually obtained with lenses with a focal length of over 600 mm. The difference between low and high focal length lenses can also be seen as follows:
Cropping a photo is another method:
In addition to the subject’s relationship with the surrounding objects and the camera lens, another tactic used by photographers is actually crop photo it can happen. By clipping distant objects, both distant objects and the Moon can be increased in size. By clipping objects far from the Moon at a small distance with the Moon, the Moon can be seen much larger. We can illustrate them with a simple example as follows: