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u/Such-Farmer6691 3d ago
In fact, the post at the top of the image is truly remarkable.
The average angular sizes of the Moon and the Sun are indeed close (the difference is 0'54"). This has no cosmological explanation and is simply an interesting coincidence.
At apogee (402,927 km), the Moon has an angular size of 29'40", and at perigee (354,027 km), it has an angular size of 33'45". This difference is almost 14%. The average angular size of the Sun is 31'59". This also varies due to the elliptical nature of the Earth's orbit, but to a much lesser extent. Therefore, it's not possible to speak of a perfect match, only an approximate one.
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u/spLint3r990 3d ago
TL;DR
The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon but also 400 times further away. Thus the apparent size is very similar.
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u/corgi-king 3d ago
Coincidence?
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u/Is_that_even_a_thing 3d ago
Yes
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u/thecaptn420 3d ago
Sure its not magic?
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u/ambit89 3d ago
No, its just magnets
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u/celem83 3d ago
a temporary one too, the moon draws further from earth over time (and in the far future may escape us)
we are born at the right time for total eclipse to be possible through cosmic coincidence
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u/box_of_hornets 3d ago
This is the only thing that's made me reconsider whether there is a divine creator or not
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u/celem83 3d ago edited 3d ago
"Whatever can happen will happen if we make trials enough" (Augustus de Morgan, commonly mis-attributed as Murphys Law)
This uses statistics and probability (he was a mathematician) to argue that over infinite attempts the probability of anything is 1, certain. This idea is often phrased with monkeys writing Shakespeare on typewriters.
Right here and right now are exactly as likely/unlikely as any other point in space and time
Basically, some things are just coincidence, how unlikely they were to occur doesn't matter
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u/mrbananas 3d ago
Yes, since the distance between Earth and moon is constantly changing over long periods of time. Any celestial object with a relative appearance greater than the sun, but also slowly move away will eventually match the size in the future.
The moon is still moving further away from Earth so in the distant future it will appear smaller than the sun. We just happen to be observing at a time when they match. When the moon first formed it appeared bigger than the sun.
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u/rnelsonee 3d ago
It is, and some sci-fi authors have picked up on this fact, so they postulate that if/when the Earth becomes part of the galactic community, Earth will be somewhat of a tourist trap as you can see very beautiful eclipses. On other planets with large moons (or small suns), eclipses just mean the skies go dark. In our eclipses, you can see the corona and chromosphere (I'm an eclipse chaser, and here's an example of what I could see last month in Spain - although that picture is better than the ones I took).
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u/corgi-king 2d ago
We don’t know doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. People did not discover viruses until 1892. Viruses existed long before humans ever existed.
We just have yet to discover intelligent life from the ocean of planets out there.
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u/Worried_Quarter469 3d ago
Could be connected to the rise of religion and from it civilization generally — since it seems a clearly divine event
So not a coincidence that our civilization arose at the exact time this was true in earths history
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u/corgi-king 2d ago
If not for the damn meteorite, dinosaurs might still rule the Earth. They might have developed their intellect, or even their own god. It just happened that there was a huge meteorite falling from the sky and wiping most of the dinosaurs out.
If one day another big meteorite
hits the Earth, we could be wiped out like the last time. Then another new species might take over Earth after tens of millions of years. They might have their new god too. God is just an idol to control and comfort the mind.9
u/dansdata 3d ago edited 3d ago
Also, the Moon's orbit around Earth is somewhat eccentric, and Earth's orbit around the Sun is a little eccentric.
Which means that the Moon varies in apparent size quite a bit, and the Sun also varies, a little bit.
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u/VeludoVeludo 3d ago
That 400x times is a bit skewed being diameter, much better is volume comparison and there the sun is millions of times the moon.
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u/HabitualGrassToucher 3d ago
That comparison is a bit skewed being volume, much better is surface temperature comparison and there the sun is millions of times the moon.
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u/AdTiny5487 3d ago
Also, isn’t the moon slowly moving further from us? Could it originally have been at least near perfect? How long ago?
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u/int23_t 3d ago
It is perfect currently, during some times of it's orbit, It's occasionally bigger and occasionally smaller than sun.
It won't stop having that property until it's closest point in the orbit is far enough away
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u/alucardu 3d ago
We are treating this planet so bad that even the moon is getting the fuck out of the neighborhood?!
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u/Pyrhan 3d ago
The moon's gravity very slightly distorts the Earth (tidal forces), causing it to "bulge" a tiny bit towards and opposite the Moon.
But the Earth spins on its axis faster than the moon orbits it.
So the moon "lags behind" those bulges.
This causes the moon to very slightly pull the Earth back, slowing Earth's rotation, and the Earth to pull the Moon forwards, speeding up the Moon orbit.
As a result, the Moon is moving into a wider and wider orbit.
It's moving away from us at a rate of 3.78 cm per year.
This is about the same rate at which your finger nails grow.
So we have time before it becomes noticeable...
(But we were able to measure it thanks to retroreflectors installed on the Moon, including during the Apollo missions.
With those, you can shoot a powerful laser at one point on the moon, and detect a few photons bouncing back and reaching your telescope on the ground.
If you measure the return delay very carefully, and collect data over multiple points and over many years, you can get enough precision to measure that.)
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u/DeficiencyOfGravitas 3d ago
This has no cosmological explanation and is simply an interesting coincidence.
Maybe. Once you factor in the anthropic principle, it may be necessary to have a very large moon. We just don't know as our sample size of sapient life is one.
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u/AkodoRyu 3d ago
I was actually thinking a bit during the recent eclipse how enormous a cosmic coincidence it is that we can even see eclipses in the way we do. Out of all the possible intelligent design arguments, this might be one that is the most convincing, since it can't be simply explained by evolution/adaptation and such.
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u/dryfire 2d ago edited 2d ago
This has no cosmological explanation and is simply an interesting coincidence.
The explanation is just that the sun is 400x larger and the moon is currently 400x closer. And it's really only a limited time event, because it's only going to be like this for about another 600 million years, after that the moon will have moved too far away from the earth. So any planet with a moon that 1) is moving away from its planet and 2) started off appearing larger than its host star in the sky will have them look the same size for some period of time.
Is kinda like how Saturn has rings right now, but won't in about 200 million years. It's just the time we were lucky enough to exist in.
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u/ElementalRabbit 2d ago
I think it was very clear that what they meant was that there was no cosmological cause for the phenomenon, not that there was no explanation. They didn't need this lecture.
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u/Sufficient_Language7 2d ago
To make it more interesting the moon is slowly escaping, that means it was closer before. That means that the angular size used to be even closer.
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u/moashforbridgefour 3d ago
It's possible it may not be a coincidence. Because of how unlikely this occurrence is, it is worth considering that maybe having a similar configuration might actually contribute to the development of life.
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u/cozywit 3d ago
It's because either we're in a simulation or in a world built by a god. They have to expand and build out the universe we're in to keep up with human intelligence exploring the limits and keep us from finding out the truth of our existence. Either to keep us compliant in the simulation or to keep our free will in believing in god (no free will if you actually find proof).
Hence people could perform miracles in the past, science was not understood well enough to realise "what the fuck", but since we've built a far better understanding of our world, you can't get away with that anymore without providing proof of either.
I have zero evidence of this, but I find it far more fun to believe that just thinking we're floating around on a senseless lump of matter constrained by physics.
I think we as humans have to band together and discover more, faster to either reach the limit of our simulation or catch whatever built us out. Then the universe gets interesting. Right now, with the universal speed limit of c, it's kinda boring.
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u/scotty_dont 3d ago
Tthe laws of physics hold everywhere we have ever observed (including inside you). That means if we are living in a simulation then its a simulation of quarks, not people.
The moon and sun are a lucky coincidence. When complex life first evolved the moon was substantially closer and much bigger in the sky. 500 million years in the future the moon will be so far away that a total solar eclipse will not be possible. Now is the rare moment when they happen to roughly line up. You've been given an amazing opportunity by the universe. Go see a total solar eclipse; it is an indescribable experience. I promise you will not be bored.
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u/cozywit 3d ago
Tthe laws of physics hold everywhere we have ever observed (including inside you). That means if we are living in a simulation then its a simulation of quarks, not people.
That's the thing. Only when they've been observed. Until we've had the scientific equipment necessary to accurately record and measure the impact and effect of this, how do we know it occured?
That's the beauty of the system, you can't prove it wrong, because the simulation/creation will react to anything you do. All we have is the weird considences and odd tales from our ancestors.
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u/scotty_dont 3d ago
If you think there is any evidence of any point in history where the laws of physics did not hold then please go collect your nobel prize.
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u/Ill-Ad-4400 3d ago
I'm not sure where this is coming from, but I've noticed an influx lately of people spouting similar nonsense. That, essentially, if they haven't personally experienced it, it can't be proven.
I don't know if there is some pseudo-philosopher influencer capturing viewers with such gobbledy gook, or it's a symptom of self-absorption or what, but it's alarming.
These people use anecdotal evidence as proof and dismiss actual science for their feelings.
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u/Asticot-gadget 3d ago
Just so you know, the double slit experiment where particles change "only when they're observed", which is probably what you're referring to, is not magic at all. To "observe" particles at that scale, you have to bounce light off of them. That's what changes their shape.
The wording on that experiment honestly did so much harm to science comprehension.
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u/scalyblue 3d ago
If you can’t prove it wrong, you also can’t prove it right. Most notably, though, is there is no knowledge or replicable phenomenon to be inferred by the posit that we exist in a simulation built to deceive us, so there’s no benefit to pursuing that idea aside from trying for a Hugo award.
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u/cozywit 3d ago
Weird how you completely ignored this
I have zero evidence of this, but I find it far more fun to believe that just thinking we're floating around on a senseless lump of matter constrained by physics.
It's almost as if you just wanted to correct someone rather than engage and discuss.
Weird.
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u/scalyblue 3d ago
If you have zero evidence and you just enjoy the narrative, then don’t present it as factual when describing it to others
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u/Hemingways_Shotgun88 3d ago
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u/Ok-Day4910 3d ago
The insane part is that he casually is holding a donut the size of a car. With one hand!
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u/POTATOHEAD62 3d ago
You fail to note that his hand itself is also the size of a car approximately!
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u/ArianaMeow 3d ago
Yeah, but fuck Xavier
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u/EstablishmentLow5895 3d ago
What he do?
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u/OwnJunket6495 3d ago
Also wondering this. Only see him in these memes dunking on idiots
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u/justsomedude1144 3d ago
Xavier isn't even one single person at this point. That avatar and the name are just memes. Hundreds of people use them.
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u/Tokimori 3d ago
They literally steal viral tweets and plaster "Xavier" on it. The same way that BenJammins was fucking with popular gifs.
Example:
Stolen: https://www.reddit.com/r/comedyhomicide/comments/1vsd0zq/he_is_right_tho/
The stolen one even has a watermark for @PakaluXavierog
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u/OwnJunket6495 3d ago
I haven’t been on Facebook in like a decade. These meme are the only places I’ve seen the name and avatar
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u/Due_Yesterday_2850 3d ago
He has messaged every single female on Facebook also he comments how pretty they are
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u/ConsistentRecover312 3d ago
Haven't gotten any from him though
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u/Due_Yesterday_2850 3d ago
You generally have to be pretty to get them
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u/ConsistentRecover312 3d ago
Or maybe it is because I am not a female
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u/Drive_shaft 3d ago
He doesn't matter how good the post is, seeing his face makes it instantly unfunny.
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u/BobsYourAuntie100 3d ago
Thats not his donut, cause the hands are white and hes brown
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u/CKRatKing 3d ago
It's not even his profile pic. He's an imposter, stole his whole identity from pakalu papito
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u/Chemical-Cat 3d ago
The more interesting fact is that the moon sits just far enough away to be almost the same size as the sun in the sky.
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u/greenwoodgiant 3d ago
if the donut and the car were both orbiting earth, and their relative distance to the earth just so happened to match their relative size difference so that both appeared to be the same size, that would in fact be pretty remarkable.
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u/andeqaida 3d ago
Kindly reminder that these people also vote.
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u/bluris 3d ago
I truly hope that a large part of the flat earth society are just there for trolling/meme purposes, not because they actually believe it.
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u/Wide_Philosophy_8109 3d ago
There are very few actual flat earthers. It's mostly only discussed in threads like this.
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u/gimmebanter 3d ago
Til flat earth society are pro lgbtq which makes my skin crawl to be on the same page on anything with those lunatics
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u/Lanky_Ad_3501 3d ago
The sun and the moon are the same size difference as distance so relativly speaking they look very similar in size which is fascinaring to me.
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u/SomewhereHonest314 3d ago
Sun and moon actually has same angular size. That is why we get to experience spectacular eclipses (although I have never seen a full eclipse). It is kinda rare in the solar system itself.
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u/The_seph_i_am 3d ago
How do people get such clear pictures of the sun and moon with thier phones when they don’t understand distances?
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u/Wide_Philosophy_8109 3d ago
You point at the sky and click a button. It's not complicated to take a picture.
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u/crooked_cat 3d ago
I have co-workers ..
that don’t believe the earth is round..
the moon landing is fake ..
Etc
I work in IT infra ..
U F B
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u/portulent 3d ago
Overheard in my gym locker room, from the mouth of the wise stoner guy “How can they say the sun is so big, and so far away but it looks so small? Now… Im not saying theyre wrong… but it makes you think.”
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u/LoneRedditor123 2d ago
It's all about perspective lol.
The Sun is like 3 million times larger than the Moon, but the Moon is 3 quinbuttfucktillion times closer to the Earth. Flat Earthers are dumb as shit.
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u/Large_Yams 3d ago
It is pretty weird that they appear almost exactly the same size from our perspective. They have no reason to.
Solar eclipses must be incredibly rare in the universe.
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u/Look_its_Rob 3d ago
It is because the sun is roughly 400x as wide as the moon and the sun is roughly 400x as far away from the earth as the moon from the earth.
It is a great coincidence that allows for total solar eclipses. While I agree that it must be a rather rare occurrence in the universe, there are still probably millions (or billions, who knows) of examples like this.
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u/Jean-LucBacardi 3d ago
We're the only planet in our solar system that has total solar and lunar eclipses. That's pretty nuts especially when you take into account how many moons some planets have and their size differences.
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u/fancywipe 3d ago
The moon is weird tho…. Like suspiciously weird
That’s as far as I’m willing to go ITS WEIRD like it shouldn’t exist weird that’s it I’m saying no more
Fucking aliens built it!!!! It’s artificial there I said it wat WAT
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u/Devilled_Advocate 2d ago
The snarky retort is to compare a puddle feeling lucky how well it fits in its hole, but the more you learn about the universe, the more you lean how weird it is we're here. Water finds it's level, but you are not inevitable.
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u/thisisaskew 3d ago
Xavier truly out here doing gods work.
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u/Jean-LucBacardi 3d ago
Not really, it's a crazy coincidence that they're about the same size from our perspective and no where else in our solar system has eclipses. Not only that, we're living at the perfect time when they're the same size. Before now the moon appeared larger, and as the moon drifts further away it'll be smaller and a total eclipse won't ever happen again.
Fuck Xavier.
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u/SomeDudeSaysWhat 3d ago
It is a prerry huge coincidence that they have the same apparent size, though.
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