Fact #062
Observing
The Moon covers about half a degree of sky. Hold a pencil eraser at arm's length and you can hide it completely.
Half a degree is roughly a fifth the width of your little finger held out at arm's length. Every photograph in which the Moon looms over a skyline was taken with a long lens from far away. Your eye and your camera phone see it as a small bright dot, and they're the ones telling the truth.
Source: U.S. Naval Observatory (opens in a new tab) · checked Aug 2026