Why are planets and the moon visible in the night sky?

Answer 1

For the same reason that the stars are visible from Earth - most of the space in between is completely empty, and air is transparent. You can't see stars (other than the sun) during the day because the sun is bright enough that it illuminates the air enough to overpower them, like a single person whispering in a large cheering crowd. The light reflected off of the moon by the sun is, however, bright enough to be seen during the day, though not as clearly as at night. This has a lot to do with the fact that the moon is only 240,000 miles away, while the nearest star is 3 light-years away. Because it orbits Earth, therefore we can see it. ... Well, that's almost correct, but the real reason we can see the Moon from the Earth is that it (the Moon) reflects sunlight during most of its orbit around the earth. When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, that period of the Moon's orbit it is essentially 'invisible' since the sun's glare makes the moon impossible to see. We call this period the "New" Moon. If you can picture in your mind the earth revolving around the Sun, and the Moon revolving around the Earth at the same time, you can see how at some point, the Moon is in between Earth and the Sun, and therefor gets 'lost' in the sun's glare.

Answer 2

Because it orbits Earth, therefore we can see it. ... Well, that's almost correct, but the real reason we can see the Moon from the Earth is that it (the Moon) reflects sunlight during most of its orbit around the earth. When the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun, that period of the Moon's orbit it is essentially 'invisible' since no light from the Sun hits it (the Earth is blocking the light, since it's so much bigger than the Moon.) We call this period the "New" Moon. If you can picture in your mind the earth revolving around the Sun, and the Moon revolving around the Earth at the same time, you can see how at some point, the Moon is on the 'far side' of the Earth in relation to the Sun, and therefore does not reflect any light for us to see it by.

Answer 3

You can see the larger moons of some planets - the Galilean satellites of Jupiter, for instance, because they reflect sunlight, just as Jupiter itself does. Saturn's rings: Same thing. We see them because they are reflecting sunlight.

Answer 4

Well the answer is that the light from the sun bounces off the moon and thankfully the moon is close enough to earth that we can clearly see the Moon in the night sky.

Answer 5

They are close enough, they are large enough, they are illuminated enough by the sun, and there is nothing between us and them except our atmosphere.

Answer 6

The planets visible from Earth are Mercury, Venus, parts of Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus.

Answer 7

Because they are there. The Sun prevents them being seen in daytime (other than the Moon) because it's too bright.