Sunlight on the Moon The moon orbits the earth with a period of four weeks ( a month) and during the orbit it always has the…

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Sunlight on the Moon

The moon orbits the earth with a period of four weeks ( a month) and during the orbit it always has the same side facing the earth. So this means that on the moon there is day and night, but they are both two weeks long instead of 24 hours.

The Moon’s daylight is brighter and harsher than the Earth’s. There is no atmosphere to scatter the light, no clouds to shade it, and no ozone layer to block the sunburning ultraviolet light.

The nights are also brighter, at least on the side of the Moon near to us. The night is lit up by sunlight reflected from Earth, while the night on Earth is lit up by sunlight reflected from the Moon. Earth is much bigger than the Moon, and Earth is also more reflective (with its clouds and oceans, it reflects more light than the dark Moon rocks). Earthlight on the Moon is much brighter than Moonlight on the Earth.

Credit: Jeff Silvis and David Palmer