Why is the moon not as bright as the sun?

DNVN - When looking up at the night sky, the Moon appears like a shining silver disc among countless stars. But no matter how bright it shines, the Moon's light still cannot compare to the dazzling sunlight of the Sun. Why is that?

In the night sky, the Moon appears quiet and mysterious, the largest natural light source when darkness covers the Earth. However, no matter how brilliant the Moon is, its light cannot compare to the brilliant halo of the Sun - the only star in the Solar System. So what makes the Moon much less bright than the Sun?

First of all, the fundamental difference lies in the nature of light. The Moon is not a true light source. The light we see from the Moon is actually sunlight reflected off its surface. In contrast to the brilliance of the Sun, the Moon’s surface reflects only about 11% of the light it receives. Most of the remaining light is absorbed by the characteristic layers of gray rock and dust on the Moon’s surface, making the reflected light much weaker.

Illustration photo.

Meanwhile, the Sun is a giant sphere of plasma, with a surface temperature of more than 5,500 degrees Celsius. It glows by itself thanks to the thermonuclear reactions that continuously take place in its core, creating an extremely powerful source of energy and light. Relatively speaking, the light emitted by the Sun when reaching Earth is about 400,000 times stronger than the light reflected by the Moon.

Not only are the Sun and Moon different in their light properties, they are also vastly different in size and distance. The Sun is about 400 times larger in diameter than the Moon and about 400 times farther from Earth than the Moon. This strange balance means that the two celestial bodies appear to be nearly the same size in the sky – especially during total solar eclipses. However, in terms of brightness, the Sun is vastly superior.

Although it cannot match the brilliance of the sun, the Moon plays a special role in human life and culture. From regulating the tides to inspiring poetry, art and religion, the Moon shines in a unique way – gentle, mysterious and captivating.

In the eyes of science , the Moon is just a “foggy mirror” of the Sun. But in the hearts of men, it is a symbol of silence, of darkness and of eternal beauty in the sky.

Bao Ngoc (t/h)

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/cong-nghe/tai-sao-mat-trang-lai-khong-sang-bang-mat-troi/20250416032754187