Why does the sun look bigger in the morning than at noon?

We all have the feeling that the sun in the morning seems to be bigger than at noon, is it that the sun is closer to us in the morning than at noon?

If we take a picture of the morning and noon suns with a well-adjusted camera and compare them, we will see that they are exactly the same size, so why don't we see them the same?

It turns out that when our eyes look at an object, the size it perceives depends not only on the actual size of the object itself, but also on many factors such as distance, background background, and brightness of the object itself, and sometimes we have illusions.

In the morning, when the sun has just risen over the horizon, because the horizon is far away from us, the trees in the distant background, the houses are too small to be seen, and the sun rises on the horizon in this background, and it looks very large; At noon, the sun hung high in the sky, which was small compared to the tall trees and houses near the earth.

Let's look at Figure 1 again

Figure 1 shows two circles of equal size, but we feel that they are whiter and larger, why do we have such an illusion? It turns out that although the lens in our eyeball is equivalent to a convex lens, and its imaging is satisfied with the imaging law of the convex lens, the outline of the object imaged on the retina is not as clear as that obtained by a adjusted camera on the negative. On the retina, there is always a circle of light around the image, which makes the outline of the image of the object enlarge and feel larger than the real thing. The aperture on the edge of the image seems to permeate from the object, and this phenomenon is called light bleed.

The greater the contrast between light and dark between the object and the background, the more significant the light bleed-through.

In the morning, when the sun has just risen from the horizon, the earth is still in a relatively dim state, and the bright sun will appear particularly large in the dim background, and the sun hanging in the sky at noon is less different from the brightness of the surrounding bright sky, and the light seepage phenomenon is not significant, and it looks small.

Another reason why the sun appears larger in the morning than at noon is that the sun is lower in the morning, and the eyes are at level when we observe, and the lens in the eyeball remains in a normal state, with a smaller degree of convex and a larger focal length, and the image of the sun through the lens on the retina is also larger. At noon, we need to look up to observe the sun, and due to the limitation of the curvature of the head and neck, the sunlight cannot directly enter the human eye, we see the sun is strabismus, in order to get a clear image on the retina, the lens will involuntarily bulge, so that its focal length becomes smaller, and the image formed on the retina will also become smaller, so when looking up, the sun will feel smaller.

If we lie on the ground at noon and look at the sun with sunglasses on, we will feel slightly bigger than when we were standing.

It follows that the reason why we feel that the sun is greater in the morning than at noon is not due to the distance of the sun from us (the effect of this distance is so small), but mainly due to our delusions.

In fact, the distance between the sun and the earth is basically the same in the morning or noon. The sun looks big in the morning because people's vision is inaccurate. Usually the same object appears small in a group of objects larger than it, and large in a group of objects smaller than it.

The cause of the illusion is absolutely.

Due to the refraction of light.

Confucius didn't even know that you asked me.

It may be due to factors such as the density of the atmosphere and the reflection and refraction of light.

Is it normal for the morning sun to look bigger than the midday sun?

When our eyes observe an object, the size it perceives is not only the specific size of the object itself, but also affected by various factors such as the distance between the object, the environment and the color of the object itself. In the morning, the sun rises from dawn, because the dawn separates you far away, and the flowers, trees, and houses in the distant environment are too small to be seen. At noon, when the sun is high in the open sky, it becomes very small compared to the tall trees and houses near the loess earth.

In the morning, the sun has just risen from dawn, when the ground is still in a relatively dim situation, and the bright sun will appear very large in the dim environment, while in the afternoon, the sunlight in the night sky is relatively small in contrast with the soft contrast chromaticity of the surrounding sky, and the light seepage is not obvious, and it looks smaller.

There is another reason why the sunlight smells in the morning is often larger than in the afternoon, that is, the sun is low in the morning, and the eyes look sideways when we observe, and the eye lens in the gaze maintains a normal mode, with a smaller protrusion, a larger focal length of the lens, and the sunlight is multiplied on the omentum through the eye lens as if it is larger. In the afternoon, we must look up to see the sun, and due to the limitation of the level of neck bending, natural light can not shine into people's eyes, everyone looks at the sun is squint, in the macula of the fundus to get a clear image, the lens of the eye will can't help but protrude, so that the lens focus is reduced, and the image on the macula of the fundus will become smaller, so when looking up, the sunlight will feel smaller.

If we lie on the floor in the afternoon and put on our sunglasses to watch the sun, we may feel slightly bigger than when we were standing. It can be seen that the reason why we think that the rising sun is greater than the afternoon is not due to the distance of the sun from you (which is indeed too harmful), but because of our delusion.

The morning sun appears to be bigger than the noon sun, which is normal and is a refracted effect.

Atmospheric refraction, morning and evening sunrise and sunset, the sun's rays are obliquely incident on the ground, and it needs to pass a longer distance in the atmosphere before reaching the ground, so the sunlight is seriously refracted by the atmosphere; At the same time, due to the difference in the incidence angle of the upper and lower edges of the sun, there is a significant difference in the degree of refraction between the upper and lower edges. At noon, due to the high altitude of the sun, the atmospheric refraction effect is not obvious, so it looks relatively small.

This is normal, if the morning is sunny, then the sun will be greater in the morning.

The sun is the same distance from the earth in the morning and at noon. Why does the sun look bigger in the morning than at noon? It's a visual error, an illusion.

The same object, placed in a group of objects larger than it, appears small, while placed in a group of objects smaller than it appears large. The same goes for the morning sun from the horizon.

Rising against the backdrop of trees, houses, distant mountains and a small corner of the sky, the sun appears to be large at this time. At noon, when the sun rises high and the vast sky is the backdrop, the sun appears smaller. Secondly, the white part of the same object appears larger than the black one, and this physical phenomenon is called "photoosmosis".

When the sun is rising, the background is a dark and dreary sky, and the sun is exceptionally bright; At noon, the background is a blue sky, and the sun does not contrast much with its brightness, so it appears smaller.

The temperature is higher at noon than in the morning, is the sun closer to us at this time than in the morning? Neither is it. The main reason is that the sun hits the earth obliquely in the morning and the sun shines directly on the earth at noon.

At the same time and in the same area, direct radiation is higher than oblique heat. At the same time, at night, the heat of the sun shining on the ground dissipates, so it feels cool in the morning; At noon, the heat of the sun hits the ground, so it feels hot. The temperature is hot or cold, and it does not indicate how far or near the sun is from the ground.