why can we see the sun but we cant see other planets?

Answer 1

As you may know, our sun is a star. It appears larger than the stars we see at night because, compared with them, it is quite close. The sun is so huge that over 1,300,000 of our earths could fit inside it.

Mercury and Mars and the Moon are smaller than the earth, all the others being larger are still minute compared to the sun .

Answer 2

You can see the other planets. The reason you can see the sun more clearly is that it emits it's own light and is comparitively larger. Planets like Venus reflect light easily and aren't that far away so you can see it in the day sometimes but the other planets are either too far away or not really reflective enough to get the same amount of brightness as Venus.
Most newspapers in the weather section will mention the rising and setting times of the varous planets (and hopefully give a general direction, so keep an eye out - they'll look like a bright star generally

Answer 3

We cannot see the other planets since they are far smaller, many are further away than the Sun is and because the intensity of the radiation given off from the Sun's surface is predominantly in the visible part of the spectrum (sodium lines give the yellow hue), and so all three factors contribute to the reason the Sun is far easier to see than the planets....

Answer 4

For that very reason Stars are unimaginably brighter than their planets. The way we can see a planet like the ones in our solar system is because of the reflected sun light from their surfaces. But even giants like Jupiter fade to insignificance when compared with the size and mass of our star). In distant solar systems the light reflected from the planets is literally drowned by the light emitted by the star of the system. In most cases it's a double star system( double star systems seem to be the trend in the universe)

Answer 5

To see an object in space with the naked eye, that object has to either emit light or relect light.

The sun omits lights by a themal nuclear process, therefore we can see it. Planets and most other celestrial body only reflect light. The degree of their reflection, the size of the object, and the proximity it is to Earth all account for whether or not we can see it.

The moon is very close to us, has a high reflectivity, and is a decent size, therefore we can see it. We can also see Mars, Venus, and some other objects if we know when and where to look. Other planets because of their distance, size, or reflectivity we cannot see, for instance Neptune.

Answer 6

The sun is very big and producing light/heat, so it's pretty easy to see. While the moon is significantly smaller than most of the planets, it is relatively close to us and so it appears very bright. The planets are significantly smaller than the sun and the only light coming from them is reflected sunlight. However, we can see them at night using a telescope.

Answer 7

And we can see other planets too, when they are in the right place. We stay (roughly) the same distance from the sun all the time, but planets keep moving in relation to us. We can often see Mars and Venus.

Answer 8

You can see other planets. But only at night because during the day the sun is so bright that it drowns them out.

Answer 9

Because the sun isn't a planet it's a star. it a ball of burning gas therefore it gives off a hell of a lot of light. planets on the other hand are not burning therefore much more difficult to see

Answer 10

The sun is a lightsource

Other planets do not project light to us, they are only visible when light both reflects OFF of them and just so happens to travel in the same direction as our eyes to be recieved by them.

The sun sheds light in all directions, so its not an issue about where its facing.