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I am a nanny to a 4 yr old and a 7 yr old and this moring they asked me why the moon was still out. I felt so bad that I couldnt answer it can you please help me out?

2006-12-06 06:16:44 · 7 answers · asked by singlefmmom213 2 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

7 answers

Did you mean, why can it appear in the daytime sky, or why can it be visible (not washed out by the sun) there?

If the former, as the moon revolves around the earth, it can appear on the opposite side of the sky as the sun, on the same side, or anywhere in between. When the moon is at the last quarter, it is at right angles to the sun, so it rises at midnight, gets as high as it will be around dawn, and sets at noon.

If the latter, it is because the moon is large enough, and reflects enough sunlight, that it is still visible in the daytime sky. The higher the sun is in the sky, and the closer the moon appears to the sun, the more likely the moon will be washed out. A gibbous moon rising in the east in late afternoon will be easily visible but a thin crescent moon appearing close to the sun at noon will be difficult or impossible to spot.

2006-12-06 06:24:10 · answer #1 · answered by Rochester 4 · 1 1

The Moon rotates around the Earth. If it's in the alignment sun > earth > moon, as the earth rotates away from the sun and towards the moon, the moon rises as the sun sets (full moon). If the alignment is sun > moon > earth (new moon), the earth rotates and sees the sun at the same time as the moon - so it rises and sets with the sun. It changes as the month goes on, so sometimes it's up at night, and sometimes during the day.

2006-12-06 06:19:39 · answer #2 · answered by eri 7 · 1 0

Where did you go to school? Everybody knows that the moon is the back side of the Sun. When you see the moon during the day, you are actually seeing a double reflection of the back side of the Sun (the Moon) which is reflected off the interior surface of the "Firmament" (Where God keeps the water he used for Noah's flood) it is then re-reflected to the opposite interior side of the Firmament where it appears normal in the sky. I hope this explains it for you.

2006-12-06 13:13:01 · answer #3 · answered by iknowtruthismine 7 · 0 1

Eri is correct, the Moon is just a big "thing" that orbits the Earth, there is no law that says it can only be visible at night, you see it during the day because sometimes it is in your field of vision.

It's almost like asking, why do I see that big red truck drive by the house sometimes?

You see it because it's there.

Eri's answer is the right answer, period.

2006-12-06 06:29:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

depending on what stage the moon is in. It is never out in the day only when it is full. Every other time it is out in the day for various amounts of time, depending on how much of the moon we can see (The more moon showing, the less it will be out in the day). When it is new, it is only out during the day. This is why you can sometimes see the moon out during the middle of the day.

2006-12-06 06:21:38 · answer #5 · answered by coldfire5418 3 · 1 1

good answers to everyone but she is trying to explain this to a 4yr old and a 7yr old, i dont know about you but i would not have any idea what all of that ment at those ages. i would just tell them that the sun and moon are always in the sky but they move around like the earth so sometimes you can see them but sometimes they are somewhere else, unless they are incredibly smart then yea explain to them the details

2006-12-06 07:22:57 · answer #6 · answered by Jamie ♥ 2 · 1 0

Because it is always there...sometimes the light being bounced off Moon is bright enough to be seen during day. (The Moon shines due to light from Sun)

2006-12-06 07:24:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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