Can you prove the moon is a mind-melting illusion in just 10 seconds using your finger?
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ONLY those with the highest IQ will be able to prove a real-world illusion using only a finger and the night sky. 

If you can prove it is an optical illusion, you could be intelligent enough to work for NASA. 

Can you prove the moon is a mind-melting illusion in just 10 seconds using your finger?

Can you prove the moon is a mind-melting illusion in just 10 seconds using your finger?Credit: NASA/Bill Dunford
When the moon is lower on the horizon it appears bigger due to how easily it can be compared to everyday objects

When the moon is lower on the horizon it appears bigger due to how easily it can be compared to everyday objectsCredit: Getty

The natural illusion known as the Moon Illusion can be seen most nights and has left experts stumped for centuries.

It is experienced when the Moon looks larger in the sky and appears closer to the Earth in the early morning or evening when it is rising or setting.

However, some will be shocked to learn that its size and distance from the Earth do not change during the night.

Instead, our brains create the optical illusion making us believe it does.

One idea behind why this happens is that when the Moon is low on the horizon, it seems larger because we can more easily compare it to everyday objects like trees, buildings, or cranes.

Meanwhile, when it is high, the vastness of the night sky makes this much more difficult to compare and therefore seems smaller.

NASA has even weighed in on the phenomenon sharing different methods proving that the illusion is fake.

Without discovering how, can you solve the riddle of the Moon using your finger in just 10 seconds?

If not, scroll down to see how it can be done.

The space agency says: “Hold up your outstretched index finger next to the Moon. 

“You’ll find that your fingernail and the Moon are about the same size.”

Two other methods can be used to prove the illusion, one uses a paper tube and the other involves your legs.

“Try looking at the Moon through a paper tube, or bend over and look backward between your legs,” NASA says.

“When you view it like this, the Moon will be nowhere near as big as it had seemed.”

Now that you have solved the Moon illusion, why not try some real-life brainteasers?

See if you have perfect vision by trying to spot the alligator lurking in the pond.

Or, see if you can spot the bird hidden between the reeds.

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