The moon shines due to sunlight that is reflected off of its surface. So the light of the moon is actually the light of the sun, reflected like that of the sun. But it is a very poor mirror.
When astronauts walked on the surface, they reported that it was dark grey, the color of a cement pavement. Because of its dark color and bumpy surface, it only reflects about 12% of the light that hits it. Additionally, the amount of light we get from the Moon depends on the point of its orbit.
The apparent brightness of the moon from Earth depends on where the moon is in its orbit around the planet. The moon travels once around Earth every 29.5 days, and during its journey, it's lit from varying angles by the sun.
This movement of the moon around the Earth accounts for the moon's different phases (full moon, quarter moon, etc.). At any given point, only half of its surface is facing the sun, and therefore, only half of the moon is lit up. The other half of the surface faces away from the sun and is in shadow.
Did you know? - the light reflected is bright enough so the moon can be seen in daytime, but against a blue sky it is not as noticeable.
When astronauts walked on the surface, they reported that it was dark grey, the color of a cement pavement. Because of its dark color and bumpy surface, it only reflects about 12% of the light that hits it. Additionally, the amount of light we get from the Moon depends on the point of its orbit.
The apparent brightness of the moon from Earth depends on where the moon is in its orbit around the planet. The moon travels once around Earth every 29.5 days, and during its journey, it's lit from varying angles by the sun.
This movement of the moon around the Earth accounts for the moon's different phases (full moon, quarter moon, etc.). At any given point, only half of its surface is facing the sun, and therefore, only half of the moon is lit up. The other half of the surface faces away from the sun and is in shadow.
Did you know? - the light reflected is bright enough so the moon can be seen in daytime, but against a blue sky it is not as noticeable.