
Annie - Why does the moon disappear during the day?
Are you an expert in your field? Do you know a little bit about the sun? The moon? Dinosaurs? Help us find the answers to our wonderings! If you see a question you know the answer to leave a comment; copy and paste a link that may help us discover a little bit more about the topic; make an educated guess. We appreciate all insight. Help us stay curious. Thank you Kindergarten
About half the time you actually can see the moon during the day however sometimes it is hard to see as the Moon appears pale white against the bright blue sky. Also, if it is cloudy or overcast you won't be able to see it.
ReplyDeleteHere is what’s going on…
The moon is lit by the sun. If it’s daytime and the sun and moon are both high in the sky - then the sun and moon are both on roughly the same side of the earth.
Since the sun is further away - that means that it must be shining mostly on the side of the moon that’s furthest from the Earth.
So when the moon is in the sky during the middle of the day, usually it’s a “new moon” (which you can’t see because the unlit side is facing us) - or a “quarter moon” - where only a sliver of it is visible.
However, if the moon is rising just as the sun is setting (or vice-versa) - then you can see almost a full moon during that part of the day.