[ATM] binocular views

[rsackett00 at yahoo.com (Ross Sackett)]

--- Charles Mitchard <charlesmitchard@iinet.net.au>
wrote:
> greetings all,
> the other day I used a couple of pairs of standard
> binoculars for
> terrestrial viewing....
> It looked like all the close trees were on different
> layers at different 
> distances, I found it quite interesting trying to
> perceive the correct 
> shape of the trees.
> Is this a normal illusion in these instances?

Charles,

Yep, that is normal: I see that all the time when I
look at terrestrial views with even big binocs. Trees,
buildings, etc., tend to look like flat stage scenery,
arrayed in planes at different depths.

Curiously, when I look at the moon in the sky with the
same instruments it looks like a spherical ball,
especially if there is some haze or whispy cirrus
cloud intervening (for me this illusion of depth is
weaker in crisp clear skies).  The odd part, of
course, is that the parallax when viewing the trees is
real and significant, but utterly negligible when
looking at celestial objects like the moon.  Ain't
neurology wonderful? Go figure.

Ross

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