You have seen the photos of the astronauts view of earth rising over the horizon of the Moon:
But to better sense the impact of this view, one needs to really see how big that rising earth looks compared to the normal moon rise. What if the Earth had two moons, the same size and distance away, and we saw that second moon rise just before the earth rose?
To appreciate how large the earth rising looks from the vantage point of standing on the moon, imagine if a planet the size of the moon had risen just before the earth rise came into view:
The earth would look 3 and 2/3 larger than the moon rise we usually see.
But even this view does not capture the sense of seeing this event. When we watch the moon rise, it really looks most impressive due to the relative perspective in relation to the normal things we are used to seeing on the horizon. The moon appears larger when it is near the horizon because our mind adds relative perspctive in relation to known objects. The next image is a view watching an imginary moon rise as if the moon had some horizon objects we are used to seeing.
Here is an imaginary moon rising seen from a moon with some added features for our improved perspective:
Since we are now in full virtual mode of seeing, I have added some light absorbing capacity to our eyes, so that we can see galaxies and nebulae.
And now while we rest comfortably in the atmospherically controled comfort of our heated space suit, we can appreciate the full excitement of seeing the earth rise in its full spledor as seen from our new moon that orbits 230,000 miles distant:
The earth rise as seen from a moon with some helpful objects to give our view the full virtual splendor of that event:
