The idea that everyone sees the same phase or face is a myth. It actually changes slightly.
Under FET the moon is 3000 miles in altitude and disappears when it is 6000 miles away (2x its height), which means its not going to turn much.
Furthermore, it is unknown how perspective works on large scales.
We know that the moon
shows almost exactly the same face to all observers, no matter where the are on earth or the position of the moon in the sky.
"the Wiki" describes the moon as
Moon
The moon is a rotating sphere. It has a diameter of 32 miles and is located approximately 3000 miles above the surface of the earth.
Some viewers see the moon directly overhead, others see it on the horizon.
These viewers would seem to be viewing completely different faces, yet we know that everyone sees the SAME face.
You claim that "under FET the moon is 3000 miles in altitude and disappears when it is 6000 miles away (2x its height), which means its not going to turn much."
I completely disagree with that on two issues.
- Even if it disappeared when only 6,000 miles away that is an angle of about 60° to the vertical. There is simply NO way you could call that "not going to turn much"
- But we know that the moon sets right at the horizon! That is 90° from the vertical and the distance would be around 8,000 miles away - depending on where the observer was.
Then you claim that "Furthermore, it is unknown how
perspective works on large scales."
Now, perspective is no more than how the scene appears to us when
light travels in straight lines from the object(s) to our eyes.No-one doubts that apart from comparatively small refraction (not more than ±2°
[1] in the most extreme cases) that
photons travel in straight lines in the atmosphere.You, yourself claimed exactly that in
The simplest explanation is that the photons simply traveled in a straight line. This is a vastly more powerful explanation to the mental gymnastics the Round Earth scientists use to explain why a round earth looks flat.
The following 3 photos were taken recently and show the moon at three quite different altitudes (on different days):
Date: 22nd May, 2016 Time: 17:42 Moon at Alt 2.1°, Azm 107.6° | | Date: 24th May 2016 Time 19:36 Moon at Alt 6.3°, Azm 107.7°, size 0.52° at - 1600mm | | Date 19th May 2016 Time 22:08 Moon at Alt 71.5°, Azm 0.1°, size 0.52° at - 1600mm |
All times are East Australian Standard Time. At altitudes varying from 2.1° (at Azimuth 107.6° - 17.6° S of East) to 71.5° (at Azimuth 0.1° - Due North)
the moon keeps almost the same face (yes it wobbles - nutates - a couple of degrees) to us all the time and does not depend on the time of day of night or on the location in the sky!
[1] | Refraction The deflection of light as it enters/passes through the atmosphere is known as Refraction. Refraction is stable and therefore predictable above about 15°, below that one needs to consider the characteristics of the atmospheric layers through which the light passes at that time. (Taking the altitude of bodies at less than 15° is usually avoided for this reason.) For altitudes above 15°, a simplified formula is adequate (± 0’.02), Refraction = 0.96/ Tan (Altitude) Refraction tables make assumptions on the layers for low altitudes and should be treated with caution. ±2° is not uncommon at an altitude of 2°. Refraction is subtracted from the Apparent Altitude to obtain the True Altitude.
from: Celestial Navigation Tutorial - NavSoft |