Copy of an email doing the rounds:

” This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point last week……a scene you will probably never get to see in person, so take a moment and enjoy God at work at the North Pole.

And, you also see the sun below the moon,an amazing photo and not one easily duplicated. You may want to pass it on to others so they can enjoy it. The Chinese have a saying that goes something like this: ‘When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others!’  I just did. Your turn.”

This would be fantastic if it was real, but unfortunately it’s a computer-generated hoax.

One clue to the picture being a fake is the difference in size between the Moon and the Sun. The Moon is close to the horizon so the ‘Ebbinghaus Illusion’ could make it seem large. However the Sun is even closer to the horizon, so the same illusion should be having an even bigger effect. Instead the Sun seems smaller than normal.

The key however is in the name for this phenomena – Ebbinghaus ILLUSION. This is an optical illusion, that tricks the brain into seeing the Sun and Moon larger when they are close to the horizon. Because it’s an ILLUSION it cannot be picked up by photography. (You need to buy a good Sunset painting instead).

I think this chain-email was inspired by NASA’s ‘New Horizons’ spacecraft which is on a long voyage to visit Pluto and its three moons:

John McNally