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Puzzling quotes from astronauts about earth size
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I have no doubt that we have been to the moon. This question has nothing to do with a moon landing hoax. But, there are two quotes from two different astronauts regarding the size of the earth as viewed from the moon that are puzzling to me. Both quotes talk about how small the Earth looked. Shouldn’t the Earth look very large when viewed from the moon
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue was the Earth. I put up my thumb, shut one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. — Neil Armstong
As we got further and further away it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm living object looked so fragile, so delicate that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man. — James Irwin
I know the term large is subjective, but still, the comments seem off. Please let me know what I’m missing.
the-moon observational-astronomy moonlanding
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I have no doubt that we have been to the moon. This question has nothing to do with a moon landing hoax. But, there are two quotes from two different astronauts regarding the size of the earth as viewed from the moon that are puzzling to me. Both quotes talk about how small the Earth looked. Shouldn’t the Earth look very large when viewed from the moon
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue was the Earth. I put up my thumb, shut one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. — Neil Armstong
As we got further and further away it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm living object looked so fragile, so delicate that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man. — James Irwin
I know the term large is subjective, but still, the comments seem off. Please let me know what I’m missing.
the-moon observational-astronomy moonlanding
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I have no doubt that we have been to the moon. This question has nothing to do with a moon landing hoax. But, there are two quotes from two different astronauts regarding the size of the earth as viewed from the moon that are puzzling to me. Both quotes talk about how small the Earth looked. Shouldn’t the Earth look very large when viewed from the moon
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue was the Earth. I put up my thumb, shut one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. — Neil Armstong
As we got further and further away it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm living object looked so fragile, so delicate that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man. — James Irwin
I know the term large is subjective, but still, the comments seem off. Please let me know what I’m missing.
the-moon observational-astronomy moonlanding
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
I have no doubt that we have been to the moon. This question has nothing to do with a moon landing hoax. But, there are two quotes from two different astronauts regarding the size of the earth as viewed from the moon that are puzzling to me. Both quotes talk about how small the Earth looked. Shouldn’t the Earth look very large when viewed from the moon
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue was the Earth. I put up my thumb, shut one eye and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. — Neil Armstong
As we got further and further away it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm living object looked so fragile, so delicate that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man. — James Irwin
I know the term large is subjective, but still, the comments seem off. Please let me know what I’m missing.
the-moon observational-astronomy moonlanding
the-moon observational-astronomy moonlanding
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
edited 58 mins ago
Jan Doggen
1,23511125
1,23511125
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
asked 14 hours ago
Lambda
19315
19315
The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago
add a comment |Â
The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago
The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago
The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
From the moon, the earth would appear to span across about 2 degree of sky. If you hold your thumb a few inches in front of your face (or your facemask if you are on the moon), your thumb will block about two degrees of your field of view (Armstrong mentions closing one eye because his thumb is close enough that the different perspective between his two eyes is significant). So there doesn't seem to be anything too surprising about these statements.
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You can get a rough idea of how large the Earth appears from these two photos:
It's not quite that large, is it?
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The Earth is 4 times the diameter of the Moon. The Earth viewed from the Moon will therefore appear 4 times as large as the Moon viewed from the Earth.
The Moon is easily obscured by a thumb at arm's length.
Now bring your thumb closer (because you can't fully extend your arm in a bulky space suit) and put on the biggest pair of ski gloves you can find.
It is not a great stretch of the imagination to think your thumb would obscure something 4 times the size of the Moon.
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
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If you reduce the scale of the Earth to make it the size of a tennis ball, then the moon would be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the moon would be about 7 feet from the Earth.
So you can get a good idea of what the moon would look like from the Earth: Get a tennis ball and ping-pong ball set them up 7 ft (2 m) apart put your head next to the ping-pong ball, and the tennis ball will look about the same size as the Earth would look on the moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCTuirkcRwo
Now hold up your thumb, cover the tennis ball and imagine "on it [is] everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives".
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
-2
down vote
Watching the moon from earth, it seems to be larger at the horizon than at the sky. This means that optical illusions may play a role here, too. The lack of reference objects or maybe the different shape of the horizon on moon may also contribute to the apparent size of earth.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
5 Answers
5
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
From the moon, the earth would appear to span across about 2 degree of sky. If you hold your thumb a few inches in front of your face (or your facemask if you are on the moon), your thumb will block about two degrees of your field of view (Armstrong mentions closing one eye because his thumb is close enough that the different perspective between his two eyes is significant). So there doesn't seem to be anything too surprising about these statements.
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
From the moon, the earth would appear to span across about 2 degree of sky. If you hold your thumb a few inches in front of your face (or your facemask if you are on the moon), your thumb will block about two degrees of your field of view (Armstrong mentions closing one eye because his thumb is close enough that the different perspective between his two eyes is significant). So there doesn't seem to be anything too surprising about these statements.
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
From the moon, the earth would appear to span across about 2 degree of sky. If you hold your thumb a few inches in front of your face (or your facemask if you are on the moon), your thumb will block about two degrees of your field of view (Armstrong mentions closing one eye because his thumb is close enough that the different perspective between his two eyes is significant). So there doesn't seem to be anything too surprising about these statements.
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
From the moon, the earth would appear to span across about 2 degree of sky. If you hold your thumb a few inches in front of your face (or your facemask if you are on the moon), your thumb will block about two degrees of your field of view (Armstrong mentions closing one eye because his thumb is close enough that the different perspective between his two eyes is significant). So there doesn't seem to be anything too surprising about these statements.
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
answered 13 hours ago
antlersoft
87838
87838
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You can get a rough idea of how large the Earth appears from these two photos:
It's not quite that large, is it?
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
You can get a rough idea of how large the Earth appears from these two photos:
It's not quite that large, is it?
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
You can get a rough idea of how large the Earth appears from these two photos:
It's not quite that large, is it?
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
You can get a rough idea of how large the Earth appears from these two photos:
It's not quite that large, is it?
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
answered 4 hours ago
stackzebra
1685
1685
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
1
1
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
It looks surprisingly small! Great photos. Thank you.
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The Earth is 4 times the diameter of the Moon. The Earth viewed from the Moon will therefore appear 4 times as large as the Moon viewed from the Earth.
The Moon is easily obscured by a thumb at arm's length.
Now bring your thumb closer (because you can't fully extend your arm in a bulky space suit) and put on the biggest pair of ski gloves you can find.
It is not a great stretch of the imagination to think your thumb would obscure something 4 times the size of the Moon.
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The Earth is 4 times the diameter of the Moon. The Earth viewed from the Moon will therefore appear 4 times as large as the Moon viewed from the Earth.
The Moon is easily obscured by a thumb at arm's length.
Now bring your thumb closer (because you can't fully extend your arm in a bulky space suit) and put on the biggest pair of ski gloves you can find.
It is not a great stretch of the imagination to think your thumb would obscure something 4 times the size of the Moon.
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The Earth is 4 times the diameter of the Moon. The Earth viewed from the Moon will therefore appear 4 times as large as the Moon viewed from the Earth.
The Moon is easily obscured by a thumb at arm's length.
Now bring your thumb closer (because you can't fully extend your arm in a bulky space suit) and put on the biggest pair of ski gloves you can find.
It is not a great stretch of the imagination to think your thumb would obscure something 4 times the size of the Moon.
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
The Earth is 4 times the diameter of the Moon. The Earth viewed from the Moon will therefore appear 4 times as large as the Moon viewed from the Earth.
The Moon is easily obscured by a thumb at arm's length.
Now bring your thumb closer (because you can't fully extend your arm in a bulky space suit) and put on the biggest pair of ski gloves you can find.
It is not a great stretch of the imagination to think your thumb would obscure something 4 times the size of the Moon.
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
answered 7 hours ago
Rob Jeffries
48.6k495147
48.6k495147
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
If you reduce the scale of the Earth to make it the size of a tennis ball, then the moon would be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the moon would be about 7 feet from the Earth.
So you can get a good idea of what the moon would look like from the Earth: Get a tennis ball and ping-pong ball set them up 7 ft (2 m) apart put your head next to the ping-pong ball, and the tennis ball will look about the same size as the Earth would look on the moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCTuirkcRwo
Now hold up your thumb, cover the tennis ball and imagine "on it [is] everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives".
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
If you reduce the scale of the Earth to make it the size of a tennis ball, then the moon would be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the moon would be about 7 feet from the Earth.
So you can get a good idea of what the moon would look like from the Earth: Get a tennis ball and ping-pong ball set them up 7 ft (2 m) apart put your head next to the ping-pong ball, and the tennis ball will look about the same size as the Earth would look on the moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCTuirkcRwo
Now hold up your thumb, cover the tennis ball and imagine "on it [is] everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives".
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
If you reduce the scale of the Earth to make it the size of a tennis ball, then the moon would be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the moon would be about 7 feet from the Earth.
So you can get a good idea of what the moon would look like from the Earth: Get a tennis ball and ping-pong ball set them up 7 ft (2 m) apart put your head next to the ping-pong ball, and the tennis ball will look about the same size as the Earth would look on the moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCTuirkcRwo
Now hold up your thumb, cover the tennis ball and imagine "on it [is] everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives".
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
If you reduce the scale of the Earth to make it the size of a tennis ball, then the moon would be about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the moon would be about 7 feet from the Earth.
So you can get a good idea of what the moon would look like from the Earth: Get a tennis ball and ping-pong ball set them up 7 ft (2 m) apart put your head next to the ping-pong ball, and the tennis ball will look about the same size as the Earth would look on the moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCTuirkcRwo
Now hold up your thumb, cover the tennis ball and imagine "on it [is] everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives".
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
answered 7 hours ago
James K
30.8k246103
30.8k246103
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
Informative video. Thanks
– Lambda
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
-2
down vote
Watching the moon from earth, it seems to be larger at the horizon than at the sky. This means that optical illusions may play a role here, too. The lack of reference objects or maybe the different shape of the horizon on moon may also contribute to the apparent size of earth.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
-2
down vote
Watching the moon from earth, it seems to be larger at the horizon than at the sky. This means that optical illusions may play a role here, too. The lack of reference objects or maybe the different shape of the horizon on moon may also contribute to the apparent size of earth.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
-2
down vote
up vote
-2
down vote
Watching the moon from earth, it seems to be larger at the horizon than at the sky. This means that optical illusions may play a role here, too. The lack of reference objects or maybe the different shape of the horizon on moon may also contribute to the apparent size of earth.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Watching the moon from earth, it seems to be larger at the horizon than at the sky. This means that optical illusions may play a role here, too. The lack of reference objects or maybe the different shape of the horizon on moon may also contribute to the apparent size of earth.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
answered 1 hour ago
Hartmut Braun
1
1
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Hartmut Braun is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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The moon is very far from Earth so it would seem that small from the Moon.
– MystaryPi
13 hours ago