THE division of night and day, darkness and light, are why the Moon and the Sun were often worshiped by ancient cultures. But at times, the Moon is visible even in the daytime.
Here’s why you can see the moon during the day
The Moon can sometimes be seen during daytime[/caption]
Why can we see the moon during the day?
It starts with the knowledge of the basics, such as the Diurnal Cycle – day and night, sunrise and sunset.
During the day, the Sun is the most luminous object in the sky, and at night, the Moon (when it is visible) is the most luminous object.
But at times, the Moon is even visible during the day. Most of the time we see a place impression against a background of blue.
There are two simple reasons as to why we can sometimes see the Moon during the daytime.
First, there is the Moon’s apparent luminosity, which is due to its proximity to our planet and a combination of other factors.
Second, there is the particular nature of the Moon’s orbit around Earth, otherwise known as the Lunar Cycle.
Between these two factors, the Moon can become more visubal to a casual observer during daylight.
To put it even more simply, We can see the Moon during the day for the same reason we see the moon at night.
The surface of the moon is reflecting the sun’s light into our eyes.
The Moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle[/caption]
How far is the moon from Earth?
Often when we see drawings of the Earth and the Moon, they look really close together.
But don’t be fooled, as they’re actually really far apart.
The Moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away.
The reason it’s measured as an average is because the Moon is not always the same distance away from the Earth.
This is because the orbit is not a perfect circle.
When the Moon is the farthest away, it’s 252,088 miles away, but when it’s closest, the Moon is 225,623 miles away.
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How big is the Moon?
Just like how far away the moon is, the answer to how big it is, is not much simpler.
Like the Earth, the Moon isn’t a perfect sphere, instead it’s slightly squashed.
This means the Moon’s diameter from pole to pole is less than the diameter measured at the equator.
Our Moon has a mean radius of 1,737 kilometers / 1,079 miles, while its polar radius is 1,736 km / 1,078 mi.
It’s equatorial radius is 1,738 km / 1,079 mi.
The Moon’s diameter is 3,474 km / 2,158 mi.
It is the biggest Moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet.
The Moon’s radius is only 27% of our Earth’s radius.
If our Earth were to swallow it up, it would take around 50 Moons to fill it.
