Why can we see the moon sometime in the morning?

Answer 1

The moon revolves around the earth, but not at the same speed that the earth spins. The difference in those rates causes the moon to appear to 'move' in the sky from the perspective of a person on the surface of the earth.

Answer 2

The moon is going around the earth, so if the sun and the moon are on the same side of the earth, we would see the moon during the day.

The moon is not as noticiable sometimes because when the moon and the sun are on the same side of the earth, we see a crescent moon or new moon (which we won't see it at all).

A full moon, however, will not be seen during the day, because it happens when the sun and the moon are on the opposite side of the earth. The sun will be rising just as the moon sets in the horizon and vise versa.

Answer 3

Sometimes you can see the moon in the middle of the day as well. It has to do with the position of the two being spread apart far enough - so the sun does not block it out. Notice - usually, when you can see both - they are not next to each other, but opposite.

Answer 4

The time for revolution or moon around the earth is different from the earth's rotation... so we can see moon at any time when the reflected light of moon falls on earth..
On Total Lunar eclipse we cant see as there will be shadow of earth falling on the moon..

Answer 5

the moon still did not go to the other side of the earth
thats why we still see it

Answer 6

Observing the Moon: A view from New Zealand

By Maurice J.S. Collins
paper submitted to GLR group

The Moon is the grandest of all the astronomical objects to observe with a telescope. It is the only body near enough for detailed observation of its craters and mountains, yet it is often ignored by the amateur astronomer and sometimes considered just a light-polluting nuisance. However, overseas at least, lunar observation in the last few years has attracted a renewed interest not seen since the 1960’s and 1970’s. It is the amateur that is rediscovering the Moon, and seeing for themselves the features made famous during the Apollo days when astronauts orbited and walked on the Moon.
In this article I hope to show what can be done on the Moon by the amateur astronomer of today and hopefully attract more observers in NZ to take a look at the wonders of the lunar world, and not to consider the Moon’s presence a time to avoid observing.

Features of the Lunar world:
So what can be seen on the Moon? The craters of course, but it is the details of the craters are what really stands out in a telescope. There maybe over 150 impact craters on earth, but none are as well preserved as the ones on the Moon. It is the craters that make the Moon so interesting. Each one has a different character and they change appearance as the sun rises over their walls from one night to the next. Changes in appearance can even be noticed after several hours in some craters. When a crater is near the terminator, which is the line that separates day and night on the Moon (or any planet), the sun is very low in the lunar sky. This low sun brings out the shadows that reveal the texture of the surface just as it does here on Earth at sunrise or sunset, and any small variations in elevations of the surface will show up by casting shadows. Rilles (lava channels), wrinkle ridges (tectonic features), the amazing Straight wall (Rupes Recta), a fault block, and the mysterious Reiner Gamma magnetic anomaly feature, possibly caused by an impact of a low density object, are just some of the wonders to see up there.
It is at the terminator that low relief features can be seen, for example lunar domes and small craters. An observer can spend hours just looking at the details visible and identifying their names, or making drawings and photographs to capture what is seen.
At Full Moon the terminator is near the limb (visible edge of the moon’s face as seen from Earth) and the light from the sun is reflected back along our line of sight from the Moon to the Earth due to the fine fluffy nature of the lunar soil. So shadows are masked from our view. But there are other things to observe at this time. Different albedo (brightness) variations show up at full Moon. There are variations in contrast in the Maria (Latin for lava seas) and around some craters. Bright rays cross the lunar surface from crater like Tycho, Copernicus and Proclus and many others. Full moon, contrary to a lot of advice, is an interesting time to observe. The terminator is still visible at the limb a few hours before and after full moon. Perhaps you will spot some interesting features like Mare Orientale’s ring mountains, or Einstein crater. Each is visible at certain times of the year when the libration is favourable around the time of full moon. A libration is the rocking back and forth of the moon due to many factors, one being its slightly elliptical orbit of the moon as it travels around the earth once a month, allowing a peek around the corner to the far side. In total about 59% of the moon is visible from earth.
Another albedo feature to look for are Dark halo Craters (DHC) that show up as dark rings around some smaller craters, especially the ones in Alphonsus crater.
Even a small telescope (even a 30mm) can show a great deal, so whatever instrument you have, even if it is only binoculars, there is plenty to be seen on the Moon. The Moon can even be looked at in daylight. The contrast is less, but craters and maria are still visible, so on a nice clear day, in the afternoon before the moon is full, or in the mornings after full moon, get out a telescope or binoculars and have a look, it’s a nice view.

Useful lunar work for the amateur lunar observer:

You may ask, what useful observations can be done on the moon that hasn’t been done before? There are many projects being conducted around the world at present. One is checking some of the old Transient Lunar Phenomenon (TLP) catalogues sightings of temporary changes, coloured glows, obscuration, or unusual bright points of light on the moon. TLP observers claim to have seen many changes on the moon over the years, but most, if not all, are probably due to seeing or telescope effects. As part of the GLR or BAA lunar section “TLP Subsection”, members are given a list of predictions of when the lighting and lunar librations will match previous times when a TLP was seen. If the lighting was the cause of the old TLP then the TLP should reoccur at that time. If it does then that TLP can be removed from the list and put down to lighting effects, if not, then it is left on the books for future study. Anyone can participate as the more observers around the world the better. They can also watch out for new TLP sightings that are then be investigated further. Since the Moon is a fairly changeless world (if any changes occur now at all) it is many hours of watching for no, or few TLP sightings. But even negative results are useful in finding out if Transient Lunar Phenomenon are real or a figment of atmosphere or imagination. At least the search makes the observer notice details that would normally be missed in a casual look at a lunar feature.
Another project if the observer has a CCD (Charge coupled device) video system (basically a video camera) connected to their telescope, is to watch for lunar impact flashes as meteoroids hit the moon and send out a flash of light. The observation is conducted by recording the “night side” of the moon – the part not lit by the sun at that time – and then analysing the tapes either manually, or by computer program, looking for a flash of light. Flashes need to be confirmed by more than one observer however, as CCD can be hit by cosmic rays and give out a flash of light on one or two pixels that can look just like impacts flashes on the Moon. There is come controversy as to whether all sightings are “glitches” but there seem to be a few confirmed ones so far, especially during meteor showers like the Leonids where the first ones were recorded back in 1999.

Lunar Rays projects. There are two types of lunar ray projects, with very different meanings! One project is observing lunar “sunlight” rays shining through gaps in crater walls and forming a ray of light across the crater floor. These light rays can form from any craters at sunrise and sunset on the moon and many are being “discovered” each month. There is a website that collects these observations and records them along with future predictions at:
The other lunar ray project is run the the Association of Lunar and Planetary observers in the USA and is concerned with mapping the crater impact ejecta rays that are visible as bright streaks across the moon. These rays are most visible at around full moon, but there are so many and they criss-cross each other that no map has recorded them all, which is surprising to me also.
Yet another major project is observing lunar domes. These are thought to be volcanic vent features that are only visible at very low “grazing sun angles” close to the terminator. (The terminator is the sunrise/sunset line we see separating the lit from the dark part of the moon). They are not visible once the sun has rise more than 5 – 10 degrees in the lunar sky as they stop casting a shadow because they are such low hills. There are many groups that study domes and look for undiscovered ones – the lighting has to be just right, so it is possible some have been missed over the years and spacecraft images tended to be taken at higher sun angles and so could not record many of them.

Other observations that can be made that are of less scientific importance, but are very enjoyable, are topographic studies of the moon’s surface features. By making drawings of the craters, mountains, rilles and other features it provides a permanent record of what the feature was like that night and at that time which may not recur for decades. Drawing the moon is easier than drawing most other objects since the artist is recording only shadow and the grey lunar surface, and can be learnt quite easily with a little practice. The main point in drawing the moon is not to make an artistic contribution to the world (though some people are extremely good and make wonderful drawings), but instead to make the observer notice features they would have overlooked with just a casual glance, and so learn their way around the Moon. It is amazing what you can see after looking at a crater for many minutes at a time. Also, as the Moon constantly changes its angle to the sun through different months, the observer may be the only person to have captured a crater at that particular lighting. You never know what features could show themselves to just you on that particular night, especially since New Zealand is having it’s night while most of the world’s population is in daylight.
There are many techniques used for drawing the lunar landscape, ranging from simple outline sketches to fully shaded relief type drawings. Some observers use ink, most draw with pencils of differing hardness. Whatever technique suits the observer can be used. Observations can be recorded in writing also. Good descriptions can describe much of what can be seen and are a useful way of making a permanent record of what was observed whether a sketch was made or not. You can make verbal notes into a tape recorder and transcribe it later if necessary.
Photography is also a major way observers record their observations. Some do it totally this way and don’t even look through the telescope directly anymore. Film or digital image recording can be used. Video CCD cameras are a good way of recording multiple video frames so that the ones taken when the atmospheric seeing was best can be “stacked” together with imaging software to make a high-resolution still digital image, and the bad ones discarded. This technique can be used with digital still images as well. Even pointing a digital camera handheld at the eyepiece can produce some fairly good images. I have taken a few photos this way, as I have no mounting for my camera. The trick is not to bump the telescope with the camera, and to take as many frames as possible in the hope of getting a clear one. Also, use an eyepiece with good eye-relief, and to use the camera zoom feature if available. I generally use a 22mm or 17mm Wide Angle eyepiece on the telescope for photography with a digital camera.

Maps of the Moon:
A lunar map or atlas is pretty much essential for finding features, and if the telescope has a star diagonal or other odd number of reflecting surfaces, then having a reversed scan of a map, or being able to mentally flip a map, is useful. Most beginning astronomy books will have a map of some sort to begin with, then later a more detailed one can be purchased. There is no perfect map that all agree on as the best, but there are several good ones like Rukl's “Atlas of The Moon”, the Hatfield Lunar Atlas and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Lunar Quadrant Maps. A lunar globe is useful too.

The Arm-Chair Lunar astronomer:
For the arm-chair lunar explorer there are many photographs, books and websites with info about the Moon. Some books are now out of print, and can be obtained through second hand booksellers. Arm-Chair observing with images is a good way of exploring the Moon without getting frozen stiff out at the telescope. Much of what can be seen at the telescope has been recorded over the years by amateur and professional astronomers, and by the astronauts of Apollo. Some email group members send out lunar photographs shortly after taking them, so studying up-to-date photos of the lunar surface are as easy as checking your email. Studying these photographs can be as exciting as observing the Moon yourself. By combining the two methods, and using the photographs to check an observation, the full enjoyment of being a lunar astronomer can be a round the clock, all-weather hobby.
An invitation to explore the Moon:
To end I would like to invite readers to take a renewed look at the Moon as it is an interesting place after all, and discover for themselves some of the most beautiful scenery and natural wonders that can be seen with a telescope. Rather than stop observing deep sky when the moon is around, I hope many stellar and deep sky observers will also turn their telescopes toward the moon and enjoy its many wonders. Whatever method of lunar study you choose, I hope you will enjoy that orbed maiden that we call our Moon.