About the world around us: why is the moon visible in the daytime?

Since childhood, the idea has been formed in our minds that the sun can be seen during the day, and the moon at night. The sphere of "activity" of the heavenly bodies was clearly distributed. However, a strange fact is obvious: quite often the night luminary is visible among the day. Paradox or just gaps in our astronomical knowledge? Definitely the second option. And in this article we will try to explain in plain language why the moon is visible during the day.

Causes of visibility or invisibility of objects in the sky

Different celestial bodies, which are in the field of view from the Earth, are to a varying degree noticeable. The sun is incomparably brighter against the background of the daytime sky than the moon at night. At the same time, we remember that the distance from the satellite to the Earth is much smaller, cosmically less. Understanding this is important when we look at the question of why the moon can be seen during the day.

There is such a thing as the brightness of cosmic bodies - a stellar magnitude. That they were clearly visible in the daytime, their brightness should be much larger than that of the daytime sky. Thus, the magnitude of the clear sky in the daytime is 9.5, and the moon is 12.7. Excess is evident, but because the satellite for all factors should be noticeable, although not much contrast with the background. Here is the simplest and most understandable to us, not to astronomical scientists, an explanation of why the moon is visible during the day.

When can the moon and the sun be seen at the same time?

We have perfectly learned from childhood that the Moon revolves around the Earth, and the Earth - around the Sun. To this we must add that the planet moves along its axis. Celestial bodies seem to be in constant dance, changing positions. And this is extremely important to take into account when figuring out when and why the moon can be seen during the day.

Given all the conditions, you can see the moon and the sun together only in the full moon. At this time, the sun sets and the moon rises. The rest of the time, the satellite should in theory be visible during the day. But here the role is played by other factors. It is better that the Moon is noticeable in the daytime sky in periods when it is approaching the full phase, the angular distance from the Sun is greater. In other phases, growing and aging, the side of the satellite illuminated by the Sun is small and turned towards it. Accordingly, the narrow strip of the young month in the afternoon will be extremely difficult to consider. That's why the moon is not always visible in the daytime: sometimes it's just hard to notice.

The properties of the atmosphere and the contrast of astronomical bodies

The atmosphere of our planet in the daytime has a blue color (imagine immediately a clear view of the sky). Also, due to scattered particles of light from the sun, it is bright. It is the brightness of the Earth's daytime atmosphere that drowns out the brightness of the Moon. The latter because of the balls of the atmosphere could also be visible to us in blue, but the low contrast prevents it from being done. If the Moon appears in the daytime in the sky, it is most often a pale spot that is easily overlooked. However, this did not prevent astronomers from carrying out their studies of the satellite's surface even during daylight hours.

Thus, we understand that light in the atmosphere of our planet prevents seeing a noticeable outline of the moon, as at night. Much of its cycle, the satellite is in a position where it is clearly visible next to the sun in the daytime. Therefore, even more important is the question of why the moon is visible during the day, and why it is not so well seen.

Experiments with photographs of the surface of the moon

Despite the pallor of the outline, the Moon is visible by day with the naked eye. Astronomers could not miss such a moment: once it can be seen without equipment, what will happen if technology is applied? Experiments began with the photographing of the moon's surface in the afternoon. I must say that their quality was quite good considering the atmospheric conditions. The first such picture was taken with a conventional digital camera attached to the telescope. The result was expected: because of the low contrast of the moon against the background of the daytime sky, its image was indistinct. The experiment was continued under the same conditions and with the same technique, however in black and white colors. The picture was somewhat more contrast. To improve the image, used the familiar "Photoshop". The processing made it look like one of the shots that are obtained during the evening shoot. Thus, it became possible to look at the relief objects in the photo. It is noteworthy that it is clearly visible as large craters (Grimaldi, Gassendi, Aristarchus), and smaller.

The example experiments with the shooting of the lunar surface during the day prove that the satellite in light time is not just visible. It can even be examined from an astronomical point of view. As we believe, the question of why the moon is visible in the day, has already found a completely clear answer.

conclusions

In space for us there are many riddles, but mankind has managed to study the nearest objects to some extent. The night star, the satellite of the Earth - objects of romantic views, accustomed to contemplate it only in the dark. However, the moon can be seen in the daytime, dividing the sky with the Sun.

In this article we tried to understand the simple language, why the moon can be seen in the daytime and what is due to the fact that sometimes we do not notice it. We hope that we helped you to expand your knowledge about the world around us.