Does the moon emit its own light? Why does the moon glow

Many children, and even some adults, are interested in the question, why does the moon shine? After all, this is not a star, it does not have a burning surface, it is quite an ordinary dense planet, and there is no high content of phosphorus on it. What's the matter?

In the past, there were many different points of view. For example, the early Christians never had the question "why does the moon shine?" Even on the first pages of the Bible it is said that God created the Sun to illuminate the day (daylight), and the Moon to disperse the darkness of the night (night light).

A little earlier, in the pre-Christian period, the pagans considered the satellite of the Earth to be the patron goddess of the night. And even now in the literature one can sometimes read about ghostly moonlight.

It is human nature to believe in miracles! What is its reason, since it is so different from the solar or artificial we are used to? Why does the moon glow?

In fact, the answer to the question "why does the moon glow" is very simple.

The moon is a natural and only satellite of the Earth, rotating both around it and around its own axis, moreover, this happens in the same period of time, therefore the moon is always turned to us on one side, from which the expression “reverse side” came from. Moon."

The moon itself does not have the property to glow, but why does the moon glow? It is only capable of reflecting sunlight or the light of the Sun reflected by the Earth onto the Moon. It often happens that the Earth closes, completely or partially, the access of light to the Moon from the Sun, just then we see the growing and falling Moon, that is, only part of it or we do not see it at all, as on a moonless night.

Very sharp temperature changes occur on the Moon, due to the lack of its own atmosphere, such as the Earth has and protects us from direct exposure to sunlight and without which life on Earth could not exist.

A day on the moon lasts 14 days, which is why the moon shines on these days, and at this time the sun heats the surface of the moon to more than 100 degrees Celsius, the next 14 days the moon night comes, then the sun does not hit the surface of the moon and it cools to - 200 degrees Celsius, heat cannot linger on the surface of the moon, since there are no atmospheric layers to stabilize temperature changes.

The Moon, unlike the Sun or other large stars, does not have its own source of light, but is capable of reflecting other people's solar rays. This is how scientists of the world explain the glow of the moon.

The moon is able to reflect the light of the largest star - the sun. As everyone knows The moon is divided into light and dark sides. The latter can never be seen, as it always remains dark. It can only be seen thanks to the pictures taken by space satellites.

The bright side of the Moon is a reflection of the rays of the Sun, which account for only about 7% of sunlight. The population of the Earth can see different lunar phases, and, accordingly, different sizes of the moon at different times of the year. This is due to the rotation of the Moon around the Earth, as well as a change in the angles of incidence of the sun's rays between the three components - the Earth, the Sun and the Moon.

According to astronomers, the Earth's satellite does not have the ability to generate light on its own. We can see only the part of the Moon illuminated by the Sun, which is not covered by the shadow from the Earth.

An interesting fact is that the planets are located in such a way that sometimes total solar eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon occur.

On a note!

1. The most famous satellite of our planet appeared as a result of a collision between the debris of the Earth and a cosmic body that has the dimensions of Mars.
2. The far side of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth, is characterized by a mountainous surface. That side of the satellite, which is turned to our planet, was subjected to the influence of gravity, which led to the appearance of a thinner crust.
3. The Moon is not the only natural satellite of the Earth. For example, the asteroid Cruitney moves in orbital resonance with our planet, and goes around it in 770 years.
4. The spots we see on the Moon are craters. They appeared as a result of a meteor shower that took place approximately 4.1-3.8 billion years ago.
5. Under the surface of the lunar soil, in the shaded craters of our planet's satellite, frozen water was discovered.
6. The atmosphere of the moon is made up of argon, not she and helium.
7. The shape of the Earth's satellite is not spherical, but egg-shaped. This is due to the gravitational fields of the Earth, as well as the fact that the main part of the masses of the Moon is located not in the center, but 2 km from it.
8. Scientists have found that the main satellite is gradually moving away from our planet. Previously, the distance between the Earth and the Moon was 22,000 km. Today this figure has increased to 400 thousand km.
9. The Moon is characterized by impressive fluctuations in temperature. At the equator of the satellite, the temperature can range from -173 degrees at night to +127 degrees during the day.
10. A day on the Moon is equal to 29.5 days on Earth. It is during this time that the Sun crosses the lunar sky.

Now that man has carefully explored the surface of the moon, he has learned a lot of interesting things about it. But the fact that there is no life on the moon, man knew long before he reached the moon.

There is no atmosphere on the moon. Astronomers have established this because there is no twilight, no sunset on the Moon. On Earth, night falls gradually because the air reflects the sun's rays even after sunset. On the moon, it’s completely different: it was just light, and at one moment darkness came. The absence of an atmosphere means that the Moon is not protected from any solar radiation. The sun radiates heat, light and radio waves. Life on Earth depends on this heat and light.

But the Sun also emits harmful radiation. Earth's atmosphere protects us from it. And there is no atmosphere on the Moon that could absorb this harmful radiation. And all the sun's rays, useful and harmful, safely reach the surface of the moon.

Because there is no atmosphere, the Moon's surface is either excessively hot or excessively cold. The moon rotates, and the side that is turned towards the sun becomes very hot. Temperatures can reach over 150 degrees Celsius. This is hot boiling water. A hot lunar day lasts for two weeks.

It is followed by a night, which also lasts two weeks. At night the temperature drops to 125 degrees below zero. This is twice as cold as the temperature that is observed at the North Pole.

Under such conditions, none of the forms of life known on Earth can exist.

The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, at a distance of about 384,000 km (239,000 miles) from it. The Moon is much lighter and smaller than the Earth. It takes 29 days for it to revolve around the Earth. The moon does not emit its own light, but only reflects the light of the sun. As the Moon travels around the Earth, it appears before us in various forms. These different forms we call the phases of the moon. They are obtained as a result of the fact that, revolving around the Sun, the Earth obscures the Moon in different ways. The moon reflects a different amount of light depending on this.

The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth. Until 1959, when the Soviet satellite Luna-3 photographed the moon from the far side, we did not know what the other hemisphere looked like.

The moon is made up of solid rocks. Thousands of craters are visible on its surface. There are vast flat plains covered with dust and high mountains. It is possible that the craters were formed from bubbles that burst in the lunar crust as a result of volcanic activity millions of years ago. In orbit around the Earth, the Moon is held by the force of gravity. The force of gravity on the Moon is 6 times less than on Earth. From time to time, the water of the earth's oceans rushes towards the moon. It causes hot flashes.

Now that people have already visited the Moon, they have a concrete idea of ​​the Earth's satellite and, accordingly, can plan the construction of stations on this planet. Of course, living conditions there are quite difficult. The surface of the moon is literally pitted with huge craters, there are also quite high mountains, large seas of hardened volcanic lava have been discovered. Volcanic eruptions once occurred on the Moon, but today they are already inactive. The seas and the inner surface of the craters are covered with a thick layer of dust. There is no air, no water, no animals, no plants. No sound can be heard on the moon, as sounds are propagated by air molecules. Therefore, people need a special suit to move on the moon. Human dwellings on the Moon must be absolutely hermetic, like bathyscaphes for underwater research. Everything that is necessary for life support, up to the air itself, must be delivered from the Earth.

Why does the moon glow? All adults are sure that they know the answer to this question. I thought so too. Until my son bombarded me with questions. The boy is persistent and meticulous. Unambiguous answers and go-ahead does not accept. And, as a rule, one "why" is not limited. Here's what it looked like.

Why does the moon glow?

She doesn't glow. It reflects the light of the Sun and the Earth. The sun shines on our planet, and it gives part of the light to its satellite - the moon.

Is the moon like a mirror? Is that why it reflects light?

No. It has a rocky surface, completely dark. It just seems very bright at night due to the fact that it is turned towards the sun and flooded with its light. And it's dark all around.

But how does the sun shine on her if I can't see?

It is the only satellite of our planet. This name was given because it goes side by side, along the “one path”. And it follows along with our planet around the Sun.

The sun stays in one place. Space objects revolve around him, "walk along the usual path." In all years, the speed and path of such a "journey" in the Cosmos is preserved. Scientists were even able to find a special formula by which at any time they can tell which planet is exactly where relative to the Sun. And the satellite runs around its girlfriend, the Earth, at the same time bypassing the sun.

(I had to show this stage of the explanation. I took a flashlight and two balls. One is larger than the other).

This satellite is always turned to our planet in one side. And it runs around us very fast. It manages to cover our entire planet in 27 days and a few hours. As if every day he performs a round dance around the Christmas tree.

The Earth is much larger than the Moon. It's hard for her to move so fast. Therefore, it creeps around the Sun slowly. In three hundred and sixty-five days, only one round passes. Therefore, it seems to people that it is the Sun that moves in a circle, and not themselves. And for a long time it was thought so, until astronomers could understand what was really happening.

At the same time, our planet rotates its axis. After all, it is round, like a ball.

(It’s good that I didn’t ask at that moment why it’s round. Or who proved that the Earth is round. I don’t forget to show everything. So as not to confuse the child, and not to go astray myself).

We are in one point of the Earth. When the planet turns to the sun with this point, we have a day. And when the reverse side - we have a night. We do not see the sun now: it shines on the other side of the Earth. But it definitely shines. That is why a round cold disk of our satellite appears in the night sky.

And where does the moon go when the moon is shining in the sky?

(I realized that they were asking me about the lunar phases. But I always thought that their origin was connected with the casting of the shadow of the Earth on the surface of my satellite. Or rather, I didn’t think so. But for some reason I thought so. When the child was considering the rotation of the Earth with a flashlight and balls, I realized that the shadow had nothing to do with it. I had to postpone the explanation so as not to mislead my son. Study the material (to my shame, only now. And then return to the question. However, the child’s persistent questions brought me back to it).

The moon is the month. More precisely, the month is a visible piece of our constant friend in the sky. When a satellite revolves around the Earth, it exposes only one of its barrels to the sun.

(Again we show the balls and a flashlight).

There's a circular disk right above us. We look to the sky, but we do not see. Because the bright luminary sends its rays to the opposite side of the month. In the dark night sky, they seem to be playing hide-and-seek with us and hide their location quite well.

After a couple of days the planets moved. The sun is already illuminating a small piece, but we see a narrow moon in the sky. A couple of days later, a thin month in the sky begins to grow, to get fat. What is it connected with? The satellite moved a little further. The sun is already visible a little more, and so are we.

(The son already knows how to determine the old and young months. You need to substitute your finger. If you get the letter P, the month is young. The letter C is old).

Here is a detailed answer to a very interesting question. I hope the information was helpful. And you can use the idea with a flashlight and balls for a visual answer to the questions of your indefatigable whys and whys. Then it will become more clear how and where the planets rotate. At an early age, you can not go into details of how the planets differ from the star. But when the child grows up a little, parents will have to give a detailed answer. This is the best way to develop with your baby!

Even in those distant times, when the ancestors of man only made their first meaningful steps on the planet, the attention of many was riveted by the Moon. Why? Everything is simple! Parents know that even the smallest child, who walks with difficulty, seeing the Moon in the sky, will draw the attention of adults to it. Indeed, a bright ball hanging in the night sky, ten times larger than the largest star, cannot go unnoticed. Every adult knows well why the moon glows. This is not only obvious, but also explained in astronomy lessons.

However, before everything was far from so obvious and there were many different points of view. For example, the early Christians never had the question "why does the moon shine?" Even on the first pages of the Bible it is said that God created the Sun to illuminate the day (daylight), and the Moon - to disperse the darkness of the night (night light). A little earlier, in the pre-Christian period, the pagans considered the patron goddess of the night. And even now in the literature one can sometimes read about ghostly moonlight. It is human nature to believe in miracles ... What is its reason, since it is so different from the solar or artificial one that is familiar to all of us? Why does the moon glow? Where, in general, did the epithet "ghostly" come from? In fact, the answer to the question "why does the moon glow" is very simple. As you know, any body, the reflection coefficient of which differs from zero upwards, is able to reflect part of the light flux incident on it. This property is used by some manufacturers of lighting fixtures: there are varieties of chandeliers, the glow of which lamps is directed by reflectors not down, as in the usual design solutions, but up, into the ceiling. Thanks to this, soft (ghostly) lighting is created in the room, which is not blinding at all - the so-called diffused light reflected by the ceiling surface in all directions.

Moonlight appears in a similar way. In our star system, only one is characterized by an intense glow - the Sun. Its luminous flux also falls on the moon, from where it is partially reflected. According to rough estimates, the brightness of moonlight is 26 times less than that of the sun. If our satellite, then it could be "seen" only with the help of instruments; Well, if the Moon had a mirror surface, then its luminosity would almost not be inferior to the Sun.

There are phases: new moon, young moon, quarter, full moon. Since the shape of the satellite is spherical, depending on the relative position of the conditional system "Sun-Moon-Earth", the visible shape of the Moon in the sky periodically changes. If the satellite enters the Earth's shadow, then the sun's rays do not reach its surface, so the night sky is empty (in fact, the Moon is always there, just the reflected light of the Earth itself and the stars is not enough to see the satellite). This is a new moon.

The appearance of a luminous crescent symbolizes a new phase - neomenia. A few days later, the right half already “shines” - this is the first quarter. Then comes the time of the full disk - the full moon. And, finally, it is replaced by the last quarter - the left half glows. Gradually, half turns into a sickle (letter "C") and the cycle repeats.

Although, it would seem, the natural satellite of our planet should have been fully studied long ago, but this is not so. Lunar exploration continues. With surprising constancy, assumptions are made that the satellite is hollow. Indirectly, this is confirmed every now and then fixed over a surface covered with a layer of dust. Perhaps inside the Moon there are secret bases of an unknown race, hidden from the curious human eye. This is yet to be figured out by scientists. Be that as it may, almost every night we can admire the wonderful moonlight, diligently dispersing the darkness of the night.