Why Moon Appears Shiny in night

 

Does the moon have its own light or not?

At night we all see a shiny round thing in the sky which appears in different shapes every day. Do you know what it is? It is the moon. The moon is the shiniest thing in the sky during night and many people think that it has its own light.

But it is wrong. The moon does not have its own light like the bulb, lamp or sun. From all the celestial bodies in the space there are only the stars which have their own light. Even planets also do not have their own light. From the earth our eyes perceive that moon must have its own light but the reality is quite different.

The rays of sun that fall on moon undergo reflection and when the reflected rays reach our eyes we are able to see the moon and perceive that moon is shining.

The same is responsible for the different shapes that the moon acquires. The phases of moon are in being due to variation of the area on which the light is falling. The area of the moon on which the light falls is brighter and visible while the other part is hidden. The full moon day comes every 28 days and the same is with the no moon day or the "amavas."

 

The amavas and the purnima have religious importance as well and the whole cycle of phases of moon is the basis of the Hindi calendar.