How can the sun & moon?

Question

Sometimes at sunset you can see the moon, my daughter asked me how can the sun and moon being out at the same time? I said that's a good question and I'll tell you when I find out. So, does anyone know why that happens?

Answer 1

Have you ever heard of a solar eclipse? That happens when the moon passes in front of the sun. For that to happen, they have to be "out" at the same time.

The moon is actually "out" at the same time as the sun approximately 50% of the time. The brightness of the sun, plus the fact that the sun is then shining on the far side of the moon, usually makes it impossible to see the moon.

Answer 2

The sun and moon are separate objects in space. The Moon is in orbit around the earth, the earth and moon in orbit around the sun.

You could make a little demonstration using some common houshold items, like a ball, some fruit, whatever.

Like this:

The earth is a tennis ball, and the moon is a gumball. Put both on the floor near each other. The Moon rolls around the earth, and it takes about a month to do so. While this is going on, both are rolling around the sun, say, an orange, which is very far away and very bright and hot.

If you imagine yourself standing on the tennis ball, you can arrange the moon so that it would appear to be in the sky at the same time as the sun... be careful, though, this is a little trickier than you might at first think. When the moon is full, it is on the OPPOSITE side of the earth from the sun:

(M)----(E)--------------(S)

M=moon, E = Earth, S = Sun

When it is a quarter moon, it is perpendicular:

---(E)--------------------(S)
---(M)

At this time you are most likely to see the moon in the sky at the same time as the sun. Eventually, the moon will move thus:

---(E)----(M)-----------(S)

So now it is definitely in the sky at the same time as the sun, but you can't see it because you are looking at the dark side of the moon in full daylight! This is called the "new moon"

You could try making a little calendar and observing the moon for a month, drawing what you see each day (or every few days) as a project that you can do together.

There are lots of sites that explain this concept in more detail, here is a good place to start:

Answer 3

Well first off the sun doesn't orbit the earth. The earth orbits the sun. Second the moon orbits the earth. The orbit of the moon is not effected by the seasonal changes, and the long and short days of those seasonal changes, of the earths orbit around the sun. The orbit of the earth to the sun is elliptical and the earth tilts and is not on an even plane of orbit to the sun. All this plays a part in the seasons and how long or short a day is. The moon's orbit is always constant at least to all but the most sophisticated of instruments. So the moon and the sun can be in the sky together due to the fact the sun rises sooner and sets later in the summer or rises late and sets early in the winter due to both the constancy of the moons orbit and the position of the earth to both the sun and the moon during the earths orbit around the sun.

Note - the sun rises and sets at a different time every day of the entire year. I can back up what I say with science fact and methodologically as well. The moons orbit doesn't change. The earths orbit to the sun makes the days longer and shorter and due to the elliptical orbit it changes the position of the sun in relation to the earth and the moon. The moon is always constant. That is why it is called a satellite. The Sun is always constant also since it is the center of our solar system, everything seen in the sky is due to the motion of the earth.

Answer 4

This mistake is caused simply through the fact that god has not remembered to wind the universe clock up
The moon and sun without the necessary synchronization of the god clock, end up drifting together,with the sun being of the greater mass, gaining distance on the moon.
Expect to see the sun get even nearer to the moon around this time of year as the lord is very active socially during this month. What with his sons birthday and all the rest of it some eminent scientologists have predicted that they may end up even colliding together in the near future.
Any more astronomical queries you may have about the heavens can be answered at the following web site: www.flatearthgodexistslunatics.co.uk

Answer 5

So, this is what happens...
Sun rises in the...EAST and sets in the...WEST. It's the same with the moon (I learned it last month..*smile*). But the moon chages the time it rises...it can rise at night or at morining or anytime! So..maybe the moon was with the sun (when the sun is about to set it cast's it's light on the moon), and that's why your daughter saw it....
I see it sometimes too..

Answer 6

Well the suns light goes to the moon so you can see it.Its just like during the night.