# The man in the moon; can you see him? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392 "2018-10-23T16:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/21 "2018-10-24T11:12:53Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > There is no expression or lore about the man in the moon in Spain; if we had lore about a person’s image showing on the moon it would likely be female, since _la luna_ is a (f) word. I first encountered the expression in my late 20s while living in the US. We also don’t have the concept of the moon being made of cheese, except in children’s books translated from English. Ditto here. When I first heard the English expression, I thought it was about an astronaut. Although, clearly, Frenchman Georges Méliès [had heard of the concept](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s#/media/File:Le_Voyage_dans_la_lune.jpg). And no, I don’t see a face. Or a rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/22 "2018-10-24T11:21:34Z")
I see a person of indeterminate sex with his/her mouth open in a scream of horror. I always have. My personality probably has something to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/23 "2018-10-24T11:28:13Z")
I see a man playing on a ladle, wearing a coat made of good roast beef, eyes like meatballs, hair of spaghetti… I believe his name is Aiken Drumm! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/24 "2018-10-24T12:47:41Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > There is no expression or lore about the man in the moon in Spain; if we had lore about a person’s image showing on the moon it would likely be female, since _la luna_ is a (f) word. I first encountered the expression in my late 20s while living in the US. We also don’t have the concept of the moon being made of cheese, except in children’s books translated from English. Thanks for explaining that. I guess it was quite U.S. centric of me to assume the man on the moon is universal. It leads me to an extremely stupid question for you or any of the other smart cookies here: I know almost nothing of astronomy but I believe I’ve read that only one side of the moon is visible from Earth. Do we, in the U.S. for instance, see the same portion of it all the time and folks in other parts of the world have their own specific view of it? In other words they may not ever see the portion that has the feature that make up the MITM? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/25 "2018-10-24T12:59:45Z")
I’m no astronomer either, but as I understand it what happens is that the moon rotates over itself at the same speed as it rotates around Earth, and the side we see is the same for every single one of us. Or at least, the same within observational error 🙂 The traditional simulation for kids is one person (Earth) standing in place and another one (the Moon) walking around the first one while always looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/26 "2018-10-24T14:34:51Z")
I see a rabbit. I _could_ see a man, or a face, but my default image is the rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/27 "2018-10-24T14:48:13Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > … > I know almost nothing of astronomy but I believe I’ve read that only one side of the moon is visible from Earth. Do we, in the U.S. for instance, see the same portion of it all the time and folks in other parts of the world have their own specific view of it? In other words they may not ever see the portion that has the feature that make up the MITM? No, everyone on Earth views the moon from the same perspective. The “dark side” or more accurately, the far side remains hidden. It wasn’t even viewable or mappable until the advent of space probes, noteable the Russian Luna 3 in 1959. FTR, we can see ~59% of the moon’s surface. > [@Nava](#): > > I’m no astronomer either, but as I understand it what happens is that the moon rotates over itself at the same speed as it rotates around Earth, and the side we see is the same for every single one of us. Or at least, the same within observational error 🙂 > > The traditional simulation for kids is one person (Earth) standing in place and another one (the Moon) walking around the first one while always looking at it. Yes, or two children hold hands while facing each other. One rotates in place while the other “orbits” around them. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/28 "2018-10-24T14:48:18Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I can _totally_ see the Man In The Moon; here’s a photo I took just this past summer. > [Link](https://flic.kr/p/2chD71N) It took me a while to see anything like a face out of that, but all of a sudden it resolved into Jesse L. Martin in the role of Joe West, with his head tilted to the viewer’s left and his teeth bared. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/29 "2018-10-24T15:11:12Z")
As [pareidolia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia) goes, I’d have to say the man in the moon is a pretty weak example. I’ll take a Virgin Mary on toast or Elvis potato chip any day over the man in the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/30 "2018-10-24T18:06:51Z")
I’ve always seen a face that seems to be looking somewhat to my left so it’s a sort of three-quarter view. I’ve always thought the face looks a little dull or vapid; the appearance of an open mouth is not in horror, but in a kind of slack-jawed ignorance/stupidity. Given that plain cognitive disability wasn’t always distinguished from “madness”, as they used to call it, I’ve wondered if the appearance of the MITM has anything to do with the Moon’s traditional association with lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/31 "2018-10-24T18:11:57Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have seen the crescent moon profile of a man. It’s about a vague as you can get. The more you stare at it the more you see it. The Better You Look, the More You’ll See. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/32 "2018-10-24T18:13:57Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I can _totally_ see the Man In The Moon; here’s a photo I took just this past summer. > [Link](https://flic.kr/p/2chD71N) Flikr says that is _Adult Content_. I disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/33 "2018-10-25T11:37:32Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > No, everyone on Earth views the moon from the same perspective. The “dark side” or more accurately, the far side remains hidden. It wasn’t even viewable or mappable until the advent of space probes, noteable the Russian Luna 3 in 1959. While it’s true that we all see the same disc, it should be noted that our view of it depends on the latitude we live at on Earth. I live at 45 degrees North; my view of the Moon is tilted compared to the view from Canberra, Australia (by about 90 degrees?). I remember looking at a Moon crescent in Florida and finding it weirdly rotated. It doesn’t change much in general, but surely the pareidolia is affected by it. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/34 "2018-10-25T12:43:40Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Back to the OP: I also thought that the man in the moon was more pronounced than usual, especially at moonrise. Atmospheric conditions? Closeness to the earth (was it nearer than normal)? When it’s low on the horizon, the way the light is ‘bent’ thru the atmosphere makes it look both larger & pink/orange in color. > [@JohnGalt](#): > > I’ve never been able to make out the rabbit though. Turn your head 90° to the right. The man’s left eye is the rabbit’s head & the ‘mascara streaks’ behind the left eye toward the left ear are the rabbit’s ears. ---
**Author:** ![emulsified](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emulsified/32/2915_2.png) [@emulsified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emulsified)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/35 "2018-10-25T13:19:48Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > When it’s low on the horizon, the way the light is ‘bent’ thru the atmosphere makes it look both larger & pink/orange in color. Not to be “that guy” but the moon isn’t actually larger near the horizon. It’s an [illusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion). ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/36 "2018-10-25T15:43:50Z")
Sometimes he looks like a smudge on the lens. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/37 "2018-10-25T16:48:44Z")
I can’t say I’ve noticed the difference from relocating twelve degrees to the north, but maybe that wasn’t far enough. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/38 "2018-10-25T19:27:00Z")
> [@emulsified](#): > > Not to be “that guy” but the moon isn’t actually larger near the horizon. It’s an [illusion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion). I didn’t say it was larger, I said it _looks_ larger. I know it’s an illusion. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/39 "2018-10-25T20:47:39Z")
I can see a “face”, when the moon is full. If you were to stand in front of me, looking to your right and downwards, that’s the angle of the face I see on the moon. Interestingly, I’ve never been able to see that when looking at a photograph of the moon - only when looking at the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392/40 "2018-10-25T22:25:35Z")
I’ve never seen a person in the lunar Rorschach test. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-man-in-the-moon-can-you-see-him/823392.md?page=3)