Why does the moon look the same size as the sun in the sky? This coincidence, which makes the ?spectacle of total eclipses possible, occurs because the sun, although 400 times bigger than the moon, is also 400 times further away. In fact, the moon sometimes looks a little bigger than the sun, which is essential for a "(?) eclipse" when the sky is dark enough for you to see the sun's faint outer atmosphere, or corona. Because tidal effects cause the moon to slowly recede from the earth, ?such eclipses have been visible only for about 150 million years and will continue for only another 150 million years.