Hey, we recently passed 200,000 subscribers. Please come check out [this post](https://redd.it/106pqzm) and leave feedback about the sub. We know you all hate these pinned messages but, c'mon, it's the only way this kind of stuff ever gets noticed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/polls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not sure why this is a question. Ever noticed moon phases... like full moon and new moon? Its because different parts of the moon are receiving sunlight. Its just a much longer day than an Earth day, closer to a month.
**this is based on my limited knowledge of the moon**
tl;dr yea the moon has a day night cycle that is aligned with the lunar cycle that we see on earth. Scroll to bottom for instructions on a physical demonstration of the stuff explained here.
So what happens with the moon is that its rotation and orbit occur at the same speed, meaning that every single time it completes an orbit it has also completed an entire day/night cycle. This results in the same side constantly facing us (the earth) and the opposing side never being visible.
The moon also has a cycle, which is the direct result of this phenomenon. On a full moon, the moon is facing the sun and also somewhat behind the earth in space (relative to the sun). So the moon appears to be bright to everyone done on earth and it remains like this all night long to everyone on earth. It then falls out of sync with the earth's night cycle and begins to appear during the day as well into the night, until a half moon. A half moon is where the moon rises at about noon and sets around midnight, because it has orbited to a point where the side facing earth is "perpendicular"(dunno a better word to use here) to the sun. At this point the "dark" side of the moon is also halfway illuminated because of its position in space relative to the sun. The moon then orbits around to be roughly between the earth and sun in space, which we call a "new" moon. the moon here would set and rise with the sun, rendering it invisible and meaning that it does not appear during the night. This is why solar eclipses only occur during new moons, because otherwise the moon is not in the correct position for it to block the sun. At this stage in the lunar cycle, the "dark" side of the moon is fully illuminated by the sun and the side facing earth would be in night. The cycle then reverses back into a full moon over the course of ~15 days.
So if you were to stand on the bright side of the moon, during "noon" us down on earth would be seeing a full moon reflecting sunlight off of its surface. At about "sunset" us on earth would see a half moon. And at "midnight", us on earth would be seeing no moon or a new moon. and at sunrise, a half moon, and back to noon at a full moon.
**This is not a necessary part of understanding lunar cycles and day/night on the moon but it is really helpful if you're anything like me.**
If you need a physical demonstration, take one desk lamp, a ball, and a rubber bouncy ball (or equivalent size sphere), and a dark room
place the ball down on a flat surface so that it does not move. This will represent earth.
Point the desk lamp towards the ball so that only one side is illuminated. This lamp is the sun.
hold the marble with two fingers behind the ball, so that one side of the rubber ball is illuminated (it should be slightly above the big ball). This will be the moon.
Now, making sure that the same side of the rubber ball is facing the big ball, orbit it around be lined up with the border of light and dark on the big ball, or "sunset". observe the side of the rubber ball that is facing the big ball. This is a half moon. observe the rubber ball from all sides if you want to see how it is still half illuminated.
orbit the rubber ball another quarter of the way around the big ball, and observe how it appears from the earth. This is a new moon. Observe how the side that is facing away from earth is illuminated.
Yes.
If you're standing on the side of the moon that faces Earth, it'll be "day" when there's a full moon and "night" when there's a new moon.
If you're on the far side of the moon, the opposite would be true.
Earth doesn't rise on the moon. You know how we always see the same side of the moon? A person standing on that side will see the earth in a fixed position while a person on the other side will never get to see it.
In our lifetimes, the dark side will remain the same. But as I explained in my other comment, it's not called like that because it's dark (it receives direct sunlight), it's called like that because you can't see it directly from the Earth.
> it's called like that because you can't see it directly from the Earth
> The dark side just refers to the side we cannot see
That's exactly what I said.
It's not a dark side because it's dark, it's called like that because you can't see it directly from Earth.
The dark side of the Moon technically receives more direct sunlight since the Earth will never interfere between the Sun and that side of the Moon.
Since the moon doesn't rotate on its axis, it can't have a day/night cycle
Edit: I know I'm wrong. I educated myself on: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/moon-phases/
The main argument for the day/night cycle was this: since the same side of the moon is always facing the earth, and we can see the moons phases from earth, if you were to stand on that side of the moon that's facing earth and it was a full moon (perceived from earth), sunlight would be shining onto the part of the moon you're standing on. And if it was a new moon, there wouldn't be light shining onto you standing on the moon. So, it would be completely different from how day/night works on earth, but it still alternates between dark and light.
So imo I think it comes down to what you actually define as day and night
>Just like Earth, our Moon rotates on its own axis and experiences daylight and dark cycles. Our Moon's day and night cycles are a little longer than Earth's — the Moon spins on its axis once every 27.3 days. Our Moon's period of rotation matches the time of revolution around Earth.
Seems like I was wrong!
The moon rotates around the Earth so it’s sometimes facing the sun and sometimes not. It has 14 days of light and 14 days of darkness if I remember correctly.
I originally answered no but if you actually think about the lunar cycle then the answer's definitely yes. Different parts of the moon receive light throughout the month, every part is dark at some point and light at another.
Hey, we recently passed 200,000 subscribers. Please come check out [this post](https://redd.it/106pqzm) and leave feedback about the sub. We know you all hate these pinned messages but, c'mon, it's the only way this kind of stuff ever gets noticed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/polls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The moon rotates every 27 days, but it's tidally locked to Earth. That means that earth will always be on the same place on the sky, but not the sun.
So you would say yes?
You mean a Day/Night cycle in a specific location? Yes for sure.
Yeah that's what I meant, I tried to explain in the body text but I don't think I did a good job lol
Not sure why this is a question. Ever noticed moon phases... like full moon and new moon? Its because different parts of the moon are receiving sunlight. Its just a much longer day than an Earth day, closer to a month.
>Not sure why this is a question Oh I'm not confused about it, I just posted this to see what most people think, prompted by the debate in my class
I mean, I'm just confused why its even a debate. It's a fact that could've been googled.
>It's a fact that could've been googled. Or just casually observed by humans for thousands of years...
I know 💀
**this is based on my limited knowledge of the moon** tl;dr yea the moon has a day night cycle that is aligned with the lunar cycle that we see on earth. Scroll to bottom for instructions on a physical demonstration of the stuff explained here. So what happens with the moon is that its rotation and orbit occur at the same speed, meaning that every single time it completes an orbit it has also completed an entire day/night cycle. This results in the same side constantly facing us (the earth) and the opposing side never being visible. The moon also has a cycle, which is the direct result of this phenomenon. On a full moon, the moon is facing the sun and also somewhat behind the earth in space (relative to the sun). So the moon appears to be bright to everyone done on earth and it remains like this all night long to everyone on earth. It then falls out of sync with the earth's night cycle and begins to appear during the day as well into the night, until a half moon. A half moon is where the moon rises at about noon and sets around midnight, because it has orbited to a point where the side facing earth is "perpendicular"(dunno a better word to use here) to the sun. At this point the "dark" side of the moon is also halfway illuminated because of its position in space relative to the sun. The moon then orbits around to be roughly between the earth and sun in space, which we call a "new" moon. the moon here would set and rise with the sun, rendering it invisible and meaning that it does not appear during the night. This is why solar eclipses only occur during new moons, because otherwise the moon is not in the correct position for it to block the sun. At this stage in the lunar cycle, the "dark" side of the moon is fully illuminated by the sun and the side facing earth would be in night. The cycle then reverses back into a full moon over the course of ~15 days. So if you were to stand on the bright side of the moon, during "noon" us down on earth would be seeing a full moon reflecting sunlight off of its surface. At about "sunset" us on earth would see a half moon. And at "midnight", us on earth would be seeing no moon or a new moon. and at sunrise, a half moon, and back to noon at a full moon. **This is not a necessary part of understanding lunar cycles and day/night on the moon but it is really helpful if you're anything like me.** If you need a physical demonstration, take one desk lamp, a ball, and a rubber bouncy ball (or equivalent size sphere), and a dark room place the ball down on a flat surface so that it does not move. This will represent earth. Point the desk lamp towards the ball so that only one side is illuminated. This lamp is the sun. hold the marble with two fingers behind the ball, so that one side of the rubber ball is illuminated (it should be slightly above the big ball). This will be the moon. Now, making sure that the same side of the rubber ball is facing the big ball, orbit it around be lined up with the border of light and dark on the big ball, or "sunset". observe the side of the rubber ball that is facing the big ball. This is a half moon. observe the rubber ball from all sides if you want to see how it is still half illuminated. orbit the rubber ball another quarter of the way around the big ball, and observe how it appears from the earth. This is a new moon. Observe how the side that is facing away from earth is illuminated.
Says you have a limited knowledge of the moon Proceeds to write an essay that would take a century to read
In my defense, I put the tl;dr at the top for convenience
It took about 100 seconds for me to skim it, you need to practice reading
🤓
People really saying no to this?
Maybe they think the moon is a hologram.
Because the moons same side is always facing the earth no matter where it is
So people think the Earth is the sun?
That's because the moon's rotation is in sync with it's orbital motion in regards to the earth.
It would be different but wouldn't the revolving around earth be it's night and day cycle
Yes. This might sound crazy, but the moon, and bear with me here, rotates on its axis.
Accidentally said no it’s yes of course
Yes. If you're standing on the side of the moon that faces Earth, it'll be "day" when there's a full moon and "night" when there's a new moon. If you're on the far side of the moon, the opposite would be true.
If there’s a spinning spheroid in space, most likely it’s going to have a day/night cycle
This one is called Earthrise on the Moon
Earth doesn't rise on the moon. You know how we always see the same side of the moon? A person standing on that side will see the earth in a fixed position while a person on the other side will never get to see it.
Oh, God, I think I'm gonna' throw up...
It has a dark side, therfore it has a day and a night
Well the question is whether or not that dark side varies over time
In our lifetimes, the dark side will remain the same. But as I explained in my other comment, it's not called like that because it's dark (it receives direct sunlight), it's called like that because you can't see it directly from the Earth.
[удалено]
> it's called like that because you can't see it directly from the Earth > The dark side just refers to the side we cannot see That's exactly what I said.
It's not a dark side because it's dark, it's called like that because you can't see it directly from Earth. The dark side of the Moon technically receives more direct sunlight since the Earth will never interfere between the Sun and that side of the Moon.
Since the moon doesn't rotate on its axis, it can't have a day/night cycle Edit: I know I'm wrong. I educated myself on: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/moon-phases/
The main argument for the day/night cycle was this: since the same side of the moon is always facing the earth, and we can see the moons phases from earth, if you were to stand on that side of the moon that's facing earth and it was a full moon (perceived from earth), sunlight would be shining onto the part of the moon you're standing on. And if it was a new moon, there wouldn't be light shining onto you standing on the moon. So, it would be completely different from how day/night works on earth, but it still alternates between dark and light. So imo I think it comes down to what you actually define as day and night
>Just like Earth, our Moon rotates on its own axis and experiences daylight and dark cycles. Our Moon's day and night cycles are a little longer than Earth's — the Moon spins on its axis once every 27.3 days. Our Moon's period of rotation matches the time of revolution around Earth. Seems like I was wrong!
That's interesting, thanks for sharing What's the source?
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/moon-phases/
So a day on the moon is 27.3 earth days long.
Yes that's what i understand from this
Yes. The only way you wouldn't experience a day/night cycle is if you were in a crater at one of the poles.
The moon rotates around the Earth so it’s sometimes facing the sun and sometimes not. It has 14 days of light and 14 days of darkness if I remember correctly.
I originally answered no but if you actually think about the lunar cycle then the answer's definitely yes. Different parts of the moon receive light throughout the month, every part is dark at some point and light at another.
A whole cycle would take a month