why is it dark in space when sunlight is steaming through it?

Answer 1

It's not dark if you look at the sun--it's blindingly bright. But when you look away it's dark because there is nothing to scatter light to your eye.

Answer 2

Great question!

In one sense, space really ISN'T dark, because it's full of photons that the sun emits.

But in order for us to detect a certain patch of space as being "bright," it's not enough just for that patch to be full of photons. The additional requirement is that those photons need to be traveling in a direction toward our eye. If they're all traveling "sideways" relative to us, they never strike our eyes, so we detect no light. The patch of space looks dark to us.

Here's a concrete example. Suppose we're floating in space, and the sun is somewhere off to our left. That means the space all around us is full of bajillions of photons, but they are all traveling left-to-right from our point of view. Now, let's say we have our eye on some (empty) cubic meter that is 100 yards ahead of us. That cubic meter is full of photons, but they are all traveling left-to-right; none of them are traveling toward our eyes. So our eyes receive no photons from that cubic meter, and our brain calls that "darkness."

Now, if we stick a basketball into that cubic meter, the basketball will intercept some of those photons, and redirect them so that the ARE streaming toward our eye. Suddenly we see something bright within the cubic meter (namely, a brigthly lit basketball).

On the earth's surface, there are so many objects around for photons to bounce off of, that the photons fly in a million different directions; so that in virtually any direction you look, there will be SOME photons that are streaming directly toward your eye. But that's not true in space, where the photons within any patch of empty space all travel in a single direction. Unless you turn your head so your eyes can intercept them (that is, you look at the sun), you will see only darkness.

Answer 3

To put it simply, light has to hit your eye in order for you to see it. So there must me something for the light to bounce off of and arrive at your eye. Space is empty for the most part so the only light we can see is from objects that emit light (like stars and our sun) or objects that reflect light (like planets, moons and the like). Empty space has nothing to reflect light to our eyes.

Answer 4

Think of being in a very dark warehouse. There is one light bulb turned on at the far back. The light eminating from that light bulb only goes out so far, it won't light up the whole warehouse, it just gives out this orb of light. That area that is lit up is called the Oort Cloud (in terms of the sun that is). Now true that there are millions of millions of stars out there that give off light, but the distance between each of those stars is so vast that the light that they give off does not reach every corner of space, making space dark. Except of course in the surrounding Oort Cloud of any star.

Answer 5

Luminous intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. The universe is huge.

Answer 6

Because sun's rays only fall to some parts of the universe. It's rays doesn't spread everywhere and make those areas in the universe which are dark, bright.

Answer 7

light is invisible until it reflects off an object, there is nothing in most of outer space for the light to reflect off of.

Answer 8

Not enough particles to reflect the light.