Ever looked up in the sky during midday and wondered “Is that the moon?” Me either. Rather, I was sure it was the moon… I just didn’t know WHY it was the moon.

Most scientists agree that the Moon was formed not long after Earth- approximately 4.51 BILLION years ago.

We don’t always take the time to slow down and look up at the sky to admire what it has in store for us. I was raised in a rural area, and moved to the city- when I go home it’s crazy to look up at the night sky and realize how much we are missing out on in the city. Stars everywhere you can see, sometimes accompanied by a giant glowing white orb (our friend and neighbor, The Moon). The moon is the fifth largest natural satellite in our solar system, though it’s definitely number one in our hearts. Most scientists agree that the Moon was formed not long after Earth- approximately 4.51 BILLION years ago- most likely being created by debris from a giant impact between Earth and Mars-sized celestial body called Theia. After being neighbors for such a long time you can imagine that our beautiful planet has developed some interesting relationships with The Moon.

I thought of these relationships as I looked up at The Moon during the day… and I realized just how little I know. It turns out there are multiple factors affecting our ability to see The Moon during the day.

Its brightness. The Moon’s surface is covered by iron and magnesium rich rocks, that allow the bright white light that reflects off of its surface to pierce right though a bright blue sky. According to Space.com The average composition of the lunar surface by weight is roughly 43 percent oxygen, 20 percent silicon, 19 percent magnesium, 10 percent iron, 3 percent calcium, 3 percent aluminum, 0.42 percent chromium, 0.18 percent titanium and 0.12 percent manganese.
The nature of its orbit around Earth. The moon takes 29.5 days to complete a full lunar cycle. I’m sure you’ve heard of a Full Moon, but you may not know what a “Waxing Gibbous” is. The important phase here is the “New Moon”- the phase right before Full Moon. The Moon is hardly visible at all during nighttime as a New Moon, but thanks to its close proximity to Earth during this phase it is quite easy to see it during the day! BOOM, science.

As you may know, the moon also has a profound affect on the Earth’s oceans- it causes tides.

As the Moon and Earth hurtle through the universe doing their cosmic dance, the tides are also affected. Twice a day, the tide comes and goes thanks to the moon’s position in orbit.

During the new moon and full moon phases the high tides become extra high and low tides become extra low. This is referred to as a “spring tide”- not because it occurs in spring, but because the tides go up and down drastically like a spring. This happens because during the new moon and full moon phases the Sun and Moon combine their gravitational pull to create even more drastic changes in the tides. Totally rad.

Happy Moon watching!

Day Moons