Why does the moonlight reflecting from the surface of the sea during the night time not illuminate the entire sea?
Why does the moonlight illuminates only a spot of a sea and the illuminated spot keeps moving as I move along the shore?
2006-07-24 03:45:57 · 7 answers · asked by david m 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
What you see in the sea is the reflection of the light that is reflected from the moon. A good analogy would be to enter a dark room, take a lamp (sun) shine it on a tennis ball (the moon) and then look at the tennis ball using a mirror (the sea). Now ask yourself why doesn't the tennis ball illuminate only one spot (the image in the mirror) and not the whole mirror.
The reason that the spot moves along with you is that the moon such a long distance from the sea, as opposed for example from the tennis ball, which would change in different perspectives.
2006-07-24 03:54:56 · answer #1 · answered by mashkas 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because there is actually no such a thing as Moonlight, yes we call it that, and it is an agreed upon term, but the Moon is not a Light Giving Celestial body. The Moons light is a Reflection from the Star we call Sun or Sol.
The reason it does not illiminate is because the Reflection is of a considerabley less Candlepower than Direct Sunlight is.
The same answer is for the effect of the appearance of motion, it is a reflection of a reflection.
2006-07-24 03:57:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Moon Reflection On Water
2016-11-13 06:03:31 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moon does illuminate the entire sea -- you just can't see all of it from where you stand!
The light that reflects off the surface travels in a very specific direction, and in order for you to see it your eye must be there.
The illuminated spot keeps moving because the direction in which you see the moon remains constant -- so the direction in which you see its reflection remains the same.
2006-07-24 05:52:05 · answer #4 · answered by dutch_prof 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that it does illuminate the entire sea. However, since most of the moonlight is reflected away from you, you just do not see it (unless you move, then it appears that the moonlight is following you since you are seeing the ligh that is being reflected in another direction).
2006-07-24 05:02:56 · answer #5 · answered by Randy G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the Moon does illuminate the ocean at night, but compared to daylight it is still considered very dark. When the moon is reflecting off the water, it causes our pupils to contract due to the brightness and this makes the rest of the ocean appear dark to us.
If you blot out the reflection of the Moon on the water, and allow your eyes to adjust to the dark, you can see that the rest is dimly lit by the moonlight.
The distance of the Moon means that as we move along the landscape, it does not appear to move at all. Only objects that are much closer appear to move when we are traveling.
Because the water is reflective all over, and the Moon appears not to move, its reflection also appears not to move. Try this with a mirror one night and it will work the same way.
2006-07-24 04:11:12 · answer #6 · answered by aichip_mark2 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
water refracts light as well as reflect .... when it refracts light, it looses intensity, loosing its property of being an luminary
2006-07-24 03:51:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋