• Question: Why is the moon sometimes visible in the day?

    Asked by lobster to Andrew, Janey P, Kinda, Ravi, SarahJane on 23 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Jane Paget

      Jane Paget answered on 23 Jun 2013:

      This is simply due to the positioning of the moon relative to the sun and the earth. During certain time of the day the moon is positioned so that the sun rays aren’t reflected to earth but back into space. However when the angle permits it, and the sky is clear we are are to ‘see’ the moon as it reflects the rays from the sun to us on earth just like as it does at night.

    • Photo: Sarah-Jane Walsh

      Sarah-Jane Walsh answered on 27 Jun 2013:

      Exactly!

      When you thing about it night and day are really irrelevant to the moon, light and dark are both caused by the sun! Its just through art and literature that we associated the moon with the night time more than the day time, but in fact the moon is visible for around 12 hours a day. When these hours fall changes every day it could be 8am-8pm which would mean in the summer you dont see the moon at all. It could be from 8pm-8am which means you see the moon all night! The moon rises and falls just like the sun does, which is why you see it move across the sky at different times.

      The shape of the moon depends on its orientation to the sun. This website has some great info on moon rise, fall and shape http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/times.html

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