why can we see the moon in the daytime?

Answer 1

Because it is big and lit up by the Sun.

Answer 2

Cos the moon goes around the earth and half the time is closer to the sun than we are. Grab an apple (the earth), a walnut (the moon) and a desk lamp (the sun). Put the apple down near the lamp, the side nearest to it is illuminate (daytime), half isn't (night time). Imagine yourself on the apple in the daytime part, looking up. towards the sun. Now move the walnut round the apple - half the time the moon is up in the day - and now and again, it'll pass in front of the sun, cast its shadow on the earth, and you have an eclipse. Turns out, people don't really seem to notice the moon in the daytime sky, but its often there.

Answer 3

Because it is bright and it is above the horizon. Every (lunar) month, there are two one-week periods where it is easy to see the Moon in daytime.

Right now (Oct. 5, 2007) we have just passed Last Quarter: At sunrise, the Moon is high in the South (if you live in the northern hemisphere) and it is above the horizon until the Moon sets around noon. It is far enough from the Sun (in apparent position in the sky) that it is not lost in the glare.

A few days from now, it will be a tiny crescent shape, rising just an hour or so before the Sun. Much dimmer and closer to the glare of the Sun, the crescent-shaped Moon is very difficult to see in daytime (not impossible, just very difficult).


Another week after that, the Moon will be a crescent in the evening sky, setting a few hours after the Sun.
A few more days after that, when it reaches first quarter, it will rise at noon and be in the Southeast sky during the afternoon, far enough from the glare of the Sun to be visible during the afternoon.


The Full Moon would be easy to see in the daytime, except that the Full Moon rises when the sun sets, and sets when the Sun rises. Hard luck.

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This morning, I saw Venus, very bright in the morning sky just before sunrise. I noted its apparent position and checked back every few minutes (keeping in mind that it moved from East to West at roughly the same rate as the stars and the Sun). I could still see it (and the Moon, of course) one hour after sunrise.

Answer 4

For part of each month, the moon rises in the morning or afternoon, so we sometimes see a crescent or half-moon in the daytime sky, although it looks like a pale, ghostly version of its vibrant after-dark self. During the daytime, the skies of Earth are full of stars and planets, just as they are at night, but the sun's glare, reflecting off the gas molecules in Earth's atmosphere, drowns the whole panorama in light and as the moon is made of grayish rock that reflects only about 7% of the light striking its surface, the sunlight reflecting off the moon is negligible. The moon looks so brilliant at night only in comparison to the pitch-blackness of the sky around it. As the month wears on, however, the moon rises later and later, until it is rising during or after the sun sets. In all locations except near the north and south poles, the full moon sets as the sun rises - which is why we only ever see the Full Moon at night.

Answer 5

It depends on the position of the moon in the sky, relative to the sun. It has to be in position where the sunlight reflected off it is visible on earth. So if it's over in the east when the sun is in the west you can see it. BUt apart from that it's just a huge rock - if you shine a light on it it's visible.

Answer 6

Yes, it reflects sun light so at some positions you can see the sun and the moon

Answer 7

"why can we see the moon in the daytime?"
i haven't seen a moon on daytime. good for you!

Answer 8

Because the moon is orbiting the earth slower than the earth revolves. So, when the light from the sun hits it, it may still be visible in broad daylight somewhere in the world.

Answer 9

Sometimes day is more than night or vice versa..so the moon may be visible in the morning

Answer 10

`cos the moon is enough bright, in fact we see the moon only when is brighter than the sky