Jasmine: Hi, I'm Jasmine.
Chrissy: I'm Chrissy.
Jasmine: We're from NIU STEAM and...
Chrissy: You're listening to the Sound of Science on WNIJ.
Vera: My name is Vera, I'm 6 years old, and I wanted to know why you can see the Moon during the day.
Chrissy: Thanks for the question Vera! Just about every picture l've ever seen shows the Moon at night, but there are times that we can clearly see it during the day. We're going to tell you why.
Jasmine: We've talked about how the Earth revolves around the sun in our Equinox and Eclipse episodes. While it is revolving, the Earth is also rotating on its axis. One rotation takes place every 24 hours and the part of the Earth that is facing the Sun experiences its day-time hours and the part facing away from the Sun is dark.
Chrissy: In much the same way, the Moon also circles around the Earth. Considered a natural satellite, the Moon travels around our planet every 27-29 days. The moon does not have the ability to give off any light. It acts like a giant reflector of the sun's light and when the Earth gets in the way, we see the different phases of the Moon. The part of the Moon we cannot see, at different points, is caused by the Earth's shadow.
Jasmine: As the Moon revolves around the Earth, it will appear in different places in the sky relative to the Earth's rotation. Just like the Sun rises and sets, so does the Moon. Because of its position, as the Moon moves through its phases, it sets 50 minutes later each night.
Chrissy: The reason that you can see the Moon during the day, and not other objects we expect to see in the night sky, is how close it is to Earth in relation to those other objects. The Sun drowns out the light of the other stars, but is well reflected by the Moon. When the Moon is full it is perfectly lined up with the Sun and the Earth isn't in the way is when it is easiest to see during day-light hours.
Jasmine: You've been listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.
