If you see the moon in the evening and at night (sometimes also during the day), why don’t you see other planets?

Asker: Mirna, 10 years old

Answer

I think you mean, no other “stars”?
When the moon is visible at night you can indeed see stars, but less than on a moonless night, especially when the moon is full. The moonlight then bounces off the particles in the atmosphere, and it does so in all directions. That is why at full moon you see, as it were, a gleam all over the sky, which drowns out the light of the stars. Only the brightest stars get through. With a crescent moon that is already a lot better, then you see more and more stars.
During the day, the light from the sun does the same thing, bouncing off the atmosphere, over and over in all directions. As a result, our eyes receive light from all directions and the sky takes on a blue color. It is so strong that it completely drowns out starlight. You can only see a little bit of the moon.

If you see the moon in the evening and at night (sometimes also during the day), why don’t you see other planets?

Answered by

prof.dr. Paul Hellings

Department of Mathematics, Fac. IIW, KU Leuven

Catholic University of Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/

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