Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Moon

You think you know the moon? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice break down moon lore and any misconceptions you might have about the moon.
Chuck carefully avoids making any moon jokes as we break down myths about the moon. Why does the moon look bigger on the horizon? Is it actually a trick of the eye? You’ll learn an easy trick to undo this illusion. What’s a honey moon? We break down different moons including the creepiest, and also Chuck’s favorite: the blood moon. All that, plus, lunar eclipses, sunsets and more on another StarTalk explainer!
About the prints that flank Neil in this video:
"Black Swan” & "White Swan" limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver. inuit.com/
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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
#StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson
0:00 - Introduction
0:44 - The Moon On Horizon Illusion
6:20 - Why The Moon Is Yellow On The Horizon
9:29 - The Blood Moon
15:05 - Closing Notes

[@S1X_Bucks]

Neil, this is youtube. Take as much time as you need. We love hearing you explain things.

[@nobodyknows3180]

Neil, this is youtube. You may have to explain it several dozen times!

[@Li01018]

@@nobodyknows3180 lol

[@Sander-Brilman]

neil this is youtube, you forgot to remind us to like and subscribe

[@NoalFarstrider]

Neil this is KZbin. We will listen for four hours and not blink an eye....44....

[@nobodyknows3180]

@@NoalFarstrider yeah, you're right, we would! 🤪🤪🤪🤪

[@JACK-OMARI]

Please do a video on the Doppler Effect & Cosmic Red Shift

[@carultch]

In Sheldon's words: "It's the apparent change in the frequency of a wave caused by relative motion between the source of the wave and the observer."

[@bandiledube1546]

Yes that would be a nice Video

[@bandiledube1546]

@@carultch That's pretty interesting , I would love to see Neil and Chuck do video on that.

[@voteeffevansfinancialfreed190]

Yes I would love to see a startalk episode on the doppler effect too

[@nemesissam2613]

Neil has a viral meme of him demonstrating the Doppler effect

[@yeshwanthprabhala6670]

Imagine hanging out, cracking jokes and at the same time learning science with Neil each and every week. Aaah, Dream Job!!!

[@dgmanb9325]

Star talk is about the only thing left in media that I have come to appreciate for its entertainment AND educational value. We love star talk

[@slowrunn3r88]

Blood Moon: happens every few nights, and it’s when all the monsters you’ve defeated get resurrected by Calamity Ganon’s powers

[@brigittecarmen9443]

My thoughts exactly. 😆

[@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat]

As well as felled trees, fruits, and other such items. Ganon's magic may be powerful but it's not terribly precise in what comes back.

[@ScarletImp]

I was waiting for that reference. :P

[@rainbowroadie]

Hahahaha

[@samsamix20]

"Wanna go to space?..just stay on earth.. the earth is in space "

[@steve-o6413]

My little Spaceship lol...

[@zionantoine9629]

I think chuck is getting smarter every time he does a episode with Neil 💡

[@Gigika313]

Fun way to learn imo

[@therealjacobtv]

I am as well

[@User-cd8ry]

Hahaha, I think your right about that.

[@Lord_Nordan]

Neil should do live streams in which he simply lectures on different scientific topics. I would bet he could attract a very large audience.

[@rohdx]

Funny thing is that they uploaded the explainer on Albedo before they talked about making an explainer about it in this video. Neil Tyson is a freakin Dr. Who

[@HANNYAFACE]

Yoo its all coming together

[@theduder2617]

That's the result of quantum communication between quarks. They can communicate instantaneously across unlimited distances. Their idea of the explainer was immediately communicated to quarks which were to come into existence at a future moment. Or... They uploaded the wrong clip at the wrong time. But I like my flawed hypothesis a little more. lol

[@millefune]

"No, you didn't. You only thought it was big." That's what she... oh wait.

[@travis303]

Oh wow! I never thought about that from the moon's perspective. A lunar eclipse, if are watching from the moon is a solar eclipse. That's pretty cool.

[@Mienhboi]

After getting a BS in Physics its still amazing how in each of these videos I learn atleast one thing new or interesting

[@roydunn2865]

I'm going to look like a crazy person looking at things without reference.

[@nobodyknows3180]

I stare at empty walls all the time, and I'm not crazy... 🤪🤪🤪

[@leadershipisaphilosophy]

I learned that reference trick a while ago, it works and yes you feel silly doing it :)

[@ikaabuladze6510]

I could watch this all day

[@AristotleMotivation]

me too

[@Andrew90046zero]

Neil saying "full frontal", was totally a free joke ticket that chuck just totally missed XD

[@ukaszchojnacki9830]

Is it only me, or does everyone see that Chuck is much more sciency than a few years ago? I feel like we are both learning from Neil 😃

[@timwoodward9799]

I would have to agree with you on that one. He's definitely picking up a lot from Neil and some of the guests. I imagine he is probably doing more research on his own and of course that's just speculation. Either way... Love em both. Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson is or should say he was the catalyst the inspiration for me to get back into astronomy physics and everything quantum. I love it. Confusing a fair amount of the time but I love it.

[@hombreleon]

4:56 This conversation went n a very strange direction. 🤣 🌝 Kudos to Chuck for maintaining a straight face.

[@vivekvicky2595]

and the ending lol

[@jmanj3917]

Chuck (out of completely NOWHERE): "Stereopsys!" Neil (completely ignoring what was probably the smartest, quickest thing Chuck has EVER said):"Yeah, yeah, yeah..So..." Lolol...Poor Chuck!! Lolol

[@707abhishek]

Neil did acknowledge by saying "right"

[@Heraclitean]

I was told the horizon illusion is because we perceive the sky (incorrectly) as a disk. Our eyes tell us the sky near the horizon is farther away than the sky overhead, so the moon looks closer by comparison.

[@nobodyknows3180]

guys everywhere now thinking "how can I turn that to my advantage?" :D

[@joannpelas5101]

This explains why back in 1980 after the eruption of Mount St. Helen we had the most brilliantly red/orange sunsets all the way down South in Louisiana. I haven't seen anything like that since.

[@thomasmutunga9833]

Great explanation. Please do an explainer on the theory of relativity!

[@Krish-jm6ve]

"Just stand on Earth...You're in space." USSR : So you conned us into space race ? USA : So we did not lie that those photos were from space Neil deGrasse Tyson enter the chat : Let me make a StarTalk on this topic Yuri Gagarin left the chat NASA left the chat

[@Li01018]

So many jokes all in one. You, my friend, are a genius.

[@thenn869]

@@Li01018 you are so right......

[@francisjohnson665]

I actually knew most of this. But always enjoy the two . In my youth some people in my neighborhood, said a blood moon meant a war was coming .

[@Sander-Brilman]

it means zombie horde night

[@Missnips24]

This is the best middle school Friday special you could ever provide. You would learn more every Friday than the whole week combined.

[@Andrew90046zero]

Can you make an explainer about heat lightning? How it’s different from regular lighting. And also lightning you see, but never hear.

[@OrcinusLaryngologist]

I thought he mentioned it in a video.. 🧐

[@jaytdl9041]

A 3 mana enchantment that turns all nonbasic lands into mountains. Easy next question

[@jefftoney3622]

😂😂😂

[@The0Gamer379]

🎵 It's Magic, you knowww! Never believe it's not sooooo🎵

[@user-yf4jx6te2b]

A card that shuts the whales down. It is beautiful when someone plays dual/fetch/pain lands right into a bloodmoon.

[@marcus.thoren]

Are we talking Terraria here?

[@caramanzilias]

@@marcus.thoren no magic the gathering

[@alexalves76]

Grab a paper. Whenever the moon is up in the sky, make a hole of its size. Whenever the "big" moon arises, it will feel like it will exceed the margins of the paper. Place the paper in front of it. It will magically shrink and perfectly fit the small paper hole. Mind blown.

[@neobellic7258]

depending on the distance from your eyes the moon wouldn't always appear to fit the hole

[@delespai5592]

Am I imagining explainer videos, or did one about albedo already happen recently?

[@usafshah]

This was recorded before the albedo video

[@AngelLPena]

This was what I was thinking.

[@timcarder2170]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnuTeISPnqealbc

[@ramazanakkaya6880]

I was questioning the same thing

[@ejmtv3]

they uploaded the albedo vid before this which is weird. and also Neil said the Blood Moon topic is actually for their next video. weird lol

[@ejmtv3]

10:51 "There's a shadow that's always there" If it weren't for the moon, we wont appreciate Sun's shadow. Wow!

[@MrT------5743]

Fun Fact: Stars cannot cast a shadow, but flames can.

[@ejmtv3]

@@MrT------5743 yes I can see it on a candle

[@mosquitoskeet2189]

Chuck, you're amazing! Still child at heart!

[@ricardol1116]

Excelent! I need this info this past week for an argument

[@spidersj12]

For ancient cultures, there would be a very deeply red blood moon and it would be mysterious and menacing when there was a very large volcanic eruption somewhere around the world at least in the same hemisphere if not the same latitude within a few months before the blood moon. Given the jet stream in the northern and southern hemisphere, the exact latitude would not necessarily be a critical part of that effect. The volcanic dust particles in the atmosphere would cause a lot of pollution in the atmosphere causing a very prominent blood moon. As an ancient people, one might postulate that the volcanic eruption was interrelated with the moon bleeding and being a sign that "the gods" where angry or telling one group of people to go to war with another neighbouring group of people. All kinds of superstitious beliefs arose from natural phenomenon being miss interpreted simply because they didn't have the knowledge to truly understand what they were seeing.

[@ebonstone2980]

I witnessed a perfect lunar eclipse in '94. I expected to see the shadow slowly cover, but the Moon instead got redder as time passed, but became almost entirely black. There was only just enough light to make it appear as a umbral orb in the sky. It was truly a marvel to behold.

[@jonathanmuniz4659]

One of my favorite co-stars 1/3.

[@alexdan1418]

•F•O•R• •M•O•R•E• •G•U•I•D•A•N•C•E•• {• W••H••A•T•S••A•P•P!} {•+ • 4 •4 •7 • 8 • 6 • 8 • 7 • 0 • 6 • 7 • 6 • 4.!}

[@thefishking7582]

I can't say I have ever experienced the horizon moon illusion. The moon has always looked the same size to me for my whole life. When people talked about the moon looking larger at some times when I was a child it really confused me.

[@davidevans3227]

where i live, it definitely (appears) to start off large and then get smaller as it rises.. have you ever seen moon pics from say Africa? where the moon can look Enormous!

[@megadaddy1995]

I love this channel. When Neil said " in the summertime" my brain immediately played that Mungo Jerry song.

[@educostanzo]

This channel is an absolute treasure!

[@sosskay6346]

2:10 😂 I haven’t done that but I always imagined Sonic the Hedgehog running along the side of my parents car as I was as in the backseat lol

[@lghammer778]

I wonder what Neil would call a Blood Moon if he could rename them? 🌙🤔 Also, what do moons with thicker atmospheres and different surface structures/materials look like from other planets? Awesome episode btw, I was thinking about this just the other night while taking a walk after dinner, cheers!

[@pohivamalu1745]

Hhmm and here I thought that the blood moon is when Madara is attempting to cast the infinite tsukuyomi 🤦 ... oh well

[@rahulkanetkar6710]

Hahaha I wish more people get this Naruto reference because this is hilarious 😂

[@bandiledube1546]

A video on the Doppler Effect would be very interesting

[@JACK-OMARI]

I Agree they should definitely do one on the Doppler effect including cosmic red shift

[@bandiledube1546]

@@JACK-OMARI I know right

[@JACK-OMARI]

@@bandiledube1546 Yeah

[@alanhehe4508]

The chemistry between Chuck and Neil is magical. Chuck is the kind of guy I'd love to have as a friend -- very intelligent and very funny. And of course Neil is just awesome.

[@cecdontcease]

"Just stand on Earth...You're in space." ☠️

[@Nurg1982]

I keep saying this to people too. Funny to see them confused. Then when I explain we all stand in an xyz coordinate in space, it just has an atmosphere because we are standing on earth, the give me the grunt and the eye hahaha

[@MrT------5743]

The saying 'shoot for the moon cause if you miss you will fall amongst the stars'. We are already amongst the stars here on earth.

[@jn651]

Ha, yeah. I usually tell people "we don't really know how to be anywhere else" (yet)

[@wrightmf]

phew, at least I don't have to pay $250K just to stand.

[@BlakeGibbons]

@@MrT------5743 hahahaha and "among the stars" is pretty damn desolate and lonely compared to what the saying implies 🤣

[@jimmybrungus2552]

I still always enjoy watching any lunar eclipse I can.

[@danm3570]

When they finally set up a research base or something on the moon it will be amazing if they put a lunar eclipse from the moon on youtube

[@mustang5132]

So it’s not made of cheese?

[@nebulanz8232]

It is, don't listen to these crazy people. :)

[@acepilot1]

No, it’s a “Cheese Product” like American cheese and cheese wiz

[@duanehastrich1460]

Mmmm cheese.

[@nebulanz8232]

@Readaholic I always suspected some such like...

[@stevedixon921]

Not made of cheese, that is why we never go back.

[@BKGboy]

Wow now I feel lucky to have seen several lunar eclipses, the first one was actually a red moon in early to mid 90's.

[@therealjacobtv]

It’s crazy I’m 33 now and this is what i like to watch…y couldn’t I have this same energy in high school😔

[@antonstbar4994]

That’s incredible, I love where I can see the ocean and I still get those huge moons. Does even having other reference points in your Peripheral vision cause that effect?

[@thomasgilardi1839]

I think certain times of year the moon looks bigger

[@kleberbaptista7962]

I truly like those two men out there. By watching their videos one will learn sth and laugh a lot. Great hug from 🇧🇷

[@Axiom9.8]

Thanks for the daily knowledge!! Professor Neil, you’re the best🌖🌌🪐

[@matthew_thefallen]

I always thought that humidity and the atmosphere were a factor to the size of the moon on the horizon, because it looks so big... so weird

[@charusingh2159]

The thing I enjoy most in startalk: The view of the two pictures in Neil's background which are each other's negative!!!!! XD

[@coffeeringsandhomeschoolth441]

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Thank you so much for this video! I would love to know more about craters and marias. (I do not believe in young earth), but I read recently that some who believe in a young earth argue that marias are proof that the moon is not billions of years old because it would have craters everywhere without an atmosphere to protect it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[@sachitradw]

My fist time seeing a lunar eclipse was back in 1995 (can't remember the month) and the moon was seen red (at Sri Lanka)

[@dylanhuckeba4561]

Could you do a video debunking the hollow moon theory? I think that'd be really interesting, also, I bet a title about the hollow moon would be catchy enough to get a lot of views.

[@mral6809]

I try beating Chuck in answering science questions but I'll admit he has answered more and faster than I can. I don't feel bad after watching his standup. Both men are worthy of my admiration for their brilliance.

[@bullettube9863]

Well now I know why I've never seen a blood moon. I was looking for a red moon while seeing an amber moon! Thanks Neil, you've saved my childhood.

[@stephenbenner4353]

Neil: [says something extremely nerdy and/or pedantic] Chuck: That is so cool!

[@NarWolfy]

When you live in a major US city and actually seeing the horizon is a treat 😥😥😢

[@ronsonesteban8632]

The face on chuck when Neil tells him to put his head between his legs and look at the moon… You know he’s thinking “and I’m the crazy one pretending to carry an airplane through the sky,”

[@antoniscon007]

After watching this I googled moon on the horizon photos. Flipping the photos upside down didn’t change my perception of it size in relation with its surroundings. How is this illusion affected by looking at the moon via photography? Thanks.

[@dukin599]

Chuck is hilarious at 2:09 😂😂😂

[@Tom-sp3gy]

This is standup astrophysics ! You guys are so cool and funny !

[@chrissummers3415]

awesome! can't wait to hear you speak at butler university in September!

[@kores4969]

"The full moon in June stays low in the sky and it holds on to sunset sort of amber colour which takes a look of a kind of honey colour. So, of all the moons of the year and they all have names, the name of the full moon in June is HONEY MOON" ~Neil Tyson

[@shauniebnaturalista6672]

Funny and deeply informative! The blood moon. I'm blown away! And edumacated.

[@MayaWu44]

since i was a child neil was my idol. that is until i found star talk. now is only chuck. chuck rules everything.

[@germaindufour8365]

I do remember a night in july riding in the James Bay road at full moon it was so bright that I could drive with out any light we could see almost like in day light.

[@r0bw00d]

I once saw an orange moon on Halloweeen some time in the late '90s. I called it the pumpkin moon. Then I remembered that it was supposed to have a face (I've never seen the man in the moon) and quickly changed it to the jack-o-lantern moon.

[@ahtreacts]

My go to sleep videos are you guys!

[@denisenj7648]

Just saw a blood moon a couple of weeks ago in NJ, mid July. Nice Amber color. Very cool.

[@LeeSpelledL-i]

Wow. I enjoy this. To imagine everyone sharing an illusion seems wild, especially, with no drugs involved...& while seeing the sky, from between one knees, as we bend forward, & look. BaddaBing! Thank you!

[@dealznfilmz7069]

I feel like a kid again curious 🤨 🤔 and fascinated about the unknown im happy i found this channel 😁

[@jamchiroptera4258]

I will say, it's really something watching the moon right before a lunar eclipse. Just watching the shadow move backwards until it's almost blocked, and then it lights up again when it's almost covered, in this lovely red. I think the one I saw was the strawberry moon? It was only slightly pink but it was still very pretty

[@breezygirl3135]

Chuck gets genuinely excited over these facts. It’s so cute! 🎉😂😂

[@swarupguha3463]

Chuck is the perfect cayenne pepper to go with Nerdy Prof. Neil.. Love them both!!

[@LtNduati]

I have always wondered that because when I first got into photography with a mirrored DSLR in 2015 it was always much smaller down the eyepiece and unless I had a huge lens 300mm to 350mm

[@tywag5609]

My dad as a pilot told me that the red moon/ sun was from forest fires in our area. And a big white ring in the sky around the moon meant it would snow the next day. Or at least be cold enough to snow.

[@Amayzun1]

I'm here for the science, but also Chuck's smile... 😍

[@koyrion]

It's when Ganondorf uses malice to revive enemies

[@robertadams6606]

Ever hear the saying "red at Night be alright, Red in Morning Sailors warning" . When I was a child that scared me.

[@odrot3055]

The one we had a week or so ago had a pretty nice blood red tint to it and I actually didn't find it too boring at all

[@howardOKC]

“OK, Alright. Moving on, moving on... " - Chuck 2021 I cried

[@acethesupervillain348]

man, I was really hoping they'd be talking about Unity 22 tho'

[@BobbJones]

Dear Neil, The enigma of the pyramids has baffled me since I first read about them. I think this, sounds like the most likely reason for the building of the Great Pyramids, the motivation to do so and what they were trying to tell future generations. First off, they were a passion project over the ages, by the survivors of a Lost civilization. This is what I believe to be true. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is a representation of the northern hemisphere of earth, I believe hinting towards the same place a meteor hit 12,500 years ago that wiped out the northern hemisphere which has been documented in countless mythologies and religions. In the 18th century till now, Scientists have confirmed and concluded that indeed a great cataclysm did in fact happen roughly 12,500 years ago. If, infact they were built in that time, the pyramids would be aligned to the belt of Orion. They were pointing to specific stars. The sphinx which I believe to be a lion pointed towards leo, all would have lined up 12,500 something years ago. What would motivate a entire culture to build such things in a specific way pointing to all these clues that direct us to 12,500 years ago? Especially after a time of great cataclysms? How many people lived before the great floods? How many people died? How many tons of blocks were used at the great pyramid, I believe the weight was equivalent to the lives lost. What research has shown is at about 12,500 something years ago something did happen, millions were wiped out. What would motivate a culture to build something so precise and accurate? Something to stand the tests of time? What would we do to remember the people we might lose if such a catastrophe were to happen to us? I do not believe the pyramids to be tombs, I believe they are tomb stones. I believe cultures came and wrote there names on the casing stones to show the families that survived the great cataclysm, and I believe the were put in the center of earth's land mass as to take center stage so all would remember, all would know of the ones who came before us, and also for us to never forget what we ourselves could eventually lose. -Bobby Jones III

[@normal1394]

I would like a video that goes more in depth about the blood moon.

[@voteeffevansfinancialfreed190]

would love to see a video about the doppler effect,,,,

[@bandiledube1546]

Same here

[@Tommy_keyys]

Do one on time dilation and stuff :)

[@xrmighty]

Neil is an amazing educator

[@ryanallen7511]

you should come to vancover BC in the summer during the fire season. The sun usually gets blocked out in red for weeks. Same with the moon. lol

[@AuthenticWe]

Always here to learn

[@devanshtanwar1094]

I love StarTalk❤️😀

[@markkeogh1910]

Genuine question when chuck says 'the lack of reference' should the correct way to phrase that be 'relative'?

[@stefanedgecombe8628]

One of the only positive programs on social media.

[@otrenigmaandy7443]

Yo! Love the show and you guys! Could we capture the energy from a volcano?

[@helgepetersen2608]

It is already being done in iceland. Seen it in a few documentations. wikipedia entry: Geothermal power in Iceland

[@rogerandthemoores]

I really love star talk and what you teach Neil but isn't the apparent distance hypothesis in relation to the moon illusion still just one of many theories? I have become a little fascinated by this as there seems to be no absolute answer to the moon illusion...is this true?

[@serearlynorthcarolina1796]

i luv this platform guys

[@suzannepottsshorts]

"Ren! Look at the moon! It's beautiful!"

[@scottmordecai482]

Do that 'looking through your legs upside-down' experiment and you'll see what the moon looks like to us here in Australia!