Why can we sometimes see the Moon during the day?

We can sometimes see the Moon during the day.

Asked by Maddy

This all depends on where the moon is in its current lunar cycle. At full moon it is exactly opposite the Sun, giving us a very bright moon in the night sky but nothing during the day. As it gets closer to new moon phase the moon is moving closer to the Sun. This makes it less bright at night but more visible during the day.

The only time the moon is hardly visible to us is when it’s directly between us and the Sun and none of the Sun’s light is reflecting off the moon towards us. If you watch the moon every night for a month you will be able to see the different phases and its varying positions in the night sky.

Tom Cousins, Science Museum