Book 8, Question 47
Why Does the Moon Look Bright If Its Rock Is as Dark as Old Pavement?
The Moon looks bright because it is lit by the Sun, and the night sky around it is dark! The Moon's rock reflects only about 12 percent of the sunlight that hits it, a bit like worn asphalt. Against the black sky, it still looks brilliant.
More fun facts
- Its lighter areas, the highlands, have more reflective rocks such as anorthosite.
- From Earth, the sunlit Moon looks almost white because the reflected sunlight is so bright.
- That glare makes it hard to see the Moon's real color from far away.
- Earth reflects two to three times more light than the Moon, so from the Moon, Earth can look up to 50 times brighter than our full Moon.
- Fresh snow reflects almost all the sunlight that hits it, while asphalt soaks up almost all of it. The Moon's rocks are closer to asphalt.
- Even a small amount of reflected sunshine is enough to make the Moon look brilliant from Earth.
- If you have ever spotted a face or an animal in the Moon's light and dark patches, you were comparing how much light different rocks reflect.
Sources: NASA Science, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
If Moon rock is dark, why does the Moon look so bright?
Even a little reflected sunlight is enough to make it look brilliant from Earth.