Eli5, why does the moon appear larger earlier in the night, when it’s “rising” as opposed to later in the night when it’s higher in the sky?

Question

Eli5, why does the moon appear larger earlier in the night, when it’s “rising” as opposed to later in the night when it’s higher in the sky?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

Perspective. When the moon is close to the ground the horizon forces your brain to percieve the moon as bigger since there are objects on the horizon and the ground as reference points.

Its the same principle as when you feel like your moving faster when driving by close objects vs objects in the distance.