I am outside and am walking to my house from my car that is across the street. I get in my house and look out the window and my car seems like its right in front of my window. Why is that?
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$\begingroup$ Related: physics.stackexchange.com/q/20844/2451 and links therein. $\endgroup$– Qmechanic ♦Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 5:40
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It is psychological rather than physical effect.
Outside you are judging the car's size by how much of your full (approx 120deg) field of view it fills. Inside you are comparing it to the field of view bounded by the window. Assuming you aren't pressed nose against the glass this is smaller, so the car fills more of the field of view of interest to you and seems larger.
A similar effect makes the moon seem much larger near the horizon when you have buildings or trees to concentrate your attention than when it is overhead and you are comparing it to the entire hemisphere of sky.
answered Jun 11, 2017 at 23:24