Why does the moon sometimes appear really gigantic and red at night or in the evening?
403265
it happens at the end of any month.because that time the moon is very near to earth.\nred color of moon : because of gasses that are in the atmosphere.
429788
The sun radiates light, thus it is emitted all around it. The moon reflects light from the sun, thus only the area facing the sun will be light.
869305
The appearance of the Moon is also dependent on the fact the the Earth is rotating on its axis. Objects appear at the horizon, drift overhead and slip below the horizon again. that is the main reason the Moon looks as it does.\n\n;-D The Moon is romantic! Let's not forget that!
1028841
The full moon did appear very big this month, but that is because of its location relative to the horizon.  The full moon was at its lowest zenith of the year.  Yes, it's technically an optical illusion, but that technicality doesn't make the view any less impressive.\n\nJust as the Sun passes over more Northern latitudes (at least up to the Tropic of Capricorn) in the summer and more Southern latitudes in the winter (to the Tropic of Cancer), the Moon also varies in its elevation.  Except the Moon passes over more Southern latitudes in the summer and more Northern latitudes in the winter.
541440
It is the same reason that sunsets are red and orange. The sun is shining all of the colors of the rainbow on to the moon, and the moon is reflecting all of those colors pretty evenly. Actually during Harvest moon this happens and also one can see this on any full or nearly full moon as the moon is rising.\nWhen the moon is low, the reflected sunlight has to travel through more air than when the moon is high in the sky. Colors at the blue or violet end of the rainbow(spectrum) are easily scattered or bent(refracted) by the atmosphere. (That's why the sky is blue: you're seeing blue sunlight scattered in every direction.) So it's the colors at the red and orange end of the spectrum that pass through the atmosphere and into your eyes.\nFor more info on the moon visit http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/planetarium/mooncal/moonfaq.htm
264918
You see the reflected sunlight- Each planet has a different reflectivity index, termed the albido.  Venus, for example, is covered in light-colored clouds, so it has a high albedo, and reflects a lot of light, making it a very bright planet.  Just for interst, the moon has an extremely low albedo, around the same as black powder- If the moon had an albedo as high as venus, or even better where covered in white powder like snow, moonlight would be bright enough read fine print by and we wouldnt need streetlights on clear nights with a full moon.
208035
Relative position in the sky. The earth's atmosphere helps distort the size as the moon is "lower" in the sky, so then it appears larger.
580957
When the light from the sun hits the earth some of the light (The higher frequency or blue light) gets trapped or rather scattered by the smaller molecules in the atmosphere.  This scattering makes the sky blue because these particles reflect this blue light.\nAt night the light we are seeing is  the light of  the sun reflected off of the moon and it is much less intense.
17557
The moon can appear orange when it is near the horizon.  The light from the moon (reflected light from the Sun) passes through a much longer path though the Earth atmosphere than when it is overhead.  Light that passes through the atmosphere is scatter by particles in the atmosphere but not in the same way for all wavelengths.  Blue light scatters more easily than red light.  When the near-white light from the moon passes through the atmopshere blue light is scattered away more that red light.  Removing more blue light makes the red light appear stronger.  The combined effect produces a red-orange hue.  This also explain with the sky is blue.  The blue is the scattered light.
451129
It's all an illusion. The periterrestrial sky has tiny landmarks to make the moon look big. In the higher heaves all you see is sky, which shows the true tiny size of the moon.
301180
Also, we only see it when it is above the horizon.\n\nDuring the day, the sun is obviously above the horizon.  But the moon sets an hour or so later each day, so sometimes it is below the horizon in the day, and sometimes not.
1036855
Depends on atmospheric conditions ,small water droplets form into ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. The moon reflects light into these droplets causing refraction of that light, givind a halo effect sometimes even a 'luna rainbow'
448771
I think it would because while the sun and the moon both shine, the moon is not boastful and sometimes hides away only showing it's light some of the time and, even then, only softly. Doesn't that seem beautiful to you?
21430
The theories presented so far have been pretty much debunked. The following link gives an elaborate explanation of this illusion. But even it fails to explain why we don't see this illusion every time the moon rises. It does not always appear larger at moonrise than when it is higher in the sky. Also, the moon may appear to be different sizes on different nights even in the same location. I'm still looking for a plausable explanation. \n\nhttp://facstaff.uww.edu/mccreadd/
604451
The full moon is visible as full anywhere\non earth where it is above the horizon...\nobviously if it is far in the southern\nhemisphere and you are far north, like\nin northern Finland, you may not see the\nfull moon at all... (but if you could it\nwould still appear full)
571862
The moon does not change colour, only our perception of the reflection of light from the sun off the moon and then through the earths atmosphere produce the colours we see. particles in the air inhibit light travel, the faster colours, ie blue, are deflected in heavy atmosphere, letting the red show through. (so a dusty night might show a red moon) for the same reason (but the other way around) the sky is blue, and so are the oceans.
699118
Depending on the angle of the light, mountains and craters will cast shadows, but the large patches of darker material on the moon which help to define the "man in the moon" are known as lunar mares. These mares, or "seas" are actually basaltic plains caused by basaltic eruptions on the moon when it was young and geologically active.