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Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
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anon answered on 23 Jun 2014:
We can see the moon because it reflects the sun’s light at us.
The moon orbits the earth every 28 days and the earth does a complete rotation in 24 hours so there are lots of occasions when the earth, sun and moon are lined up at the right angles so that the sun’s light reflects off it at us in the daytime!
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Daren Fearon answered on 23 Jun 2014:
After the sun, the moon is the brightest object in our sky as it is so close to the earth. Unlike the sun, the moon doesn’t produce light but reflects the light from the sun due to it’s pale coloured surface. So in effect, the moon is a giant discoball. When the sun is up it is far brighter than the moon, but it is still possible to see it sometimes as it reflects light. How well we can see it depends on where it is relative to the sun. When the sun is down there is nothing else as bright as the moon so we see it much more clearly. The different stages of the moon depends on where the moon is relative to the sun. At a full moon, it is directly opposite the sun and so more of its surface can reflect light. When we have a “new moon” it is much closer to the sun and is more visible during the day.
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Lynne Thomas answered on 23 Jun 2014:
Great answers there from Jenny and Daren. The moon also affects the tides of our oceans because it has a gravitational pull on us (because it has mass). So it changes over the 28 days its orbit and the high tide changes time and also how big it is according to the moon’s position relative to us.
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Phillip Manning answered on 25 Jun 2014:
The relative position of the moon and Sun to Earth change as a function of our planets orbit and season. This is why the moon changes its position on a daily basis…driving our tides and popping-up occasionally during the day…courtesy of some sunlight striking its surface in the ‘just-so’ place!
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