Book 8, Question 7
Why Can’t You See Stars During the Day?
We can't see stars in the day because the Sun makes the sky too bright! Sunlight bounces around in our air and fills the sky with bright blue light. That glare hides the faint stars, but they are still there!
More fun facts
- Our air is the other part of the reason we cannot see stars in the daytime.
- On the Moon you could block the Sun with your hand and see stars during the day.
- With telescopes, astronomers can measure the brightness of some stars in the daytime.
- One daytime study spotted stars as faint as magnitude 4.6, not much brighter than what you can see on a dark night.
- If the giant star Betelgeuse explodes someday, it could become as bright as the full Moon.
Sources: Scientific American, NASA, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
Can you see any star in the daytime?
Yes, the Sun! It is a star too.