Samuel Chiltern answered
People have always been fascinated by the night sky and children often wonder where the stars go during the day! The stars are always shining, but we can only see them at night time, and I'll explain why in the next section.
Why Can't We See The Stars During the Day?
The amount of light that reaches us from any of the stars is minuscule (other than from our own star, the sun). This is because of the enormous distances that the light has to travel in order to reach us.
Most of the light energy that each star emits is dispersed in other directions across space before it even reaches us.
So, it is quite hard to make out many of the multitude of stars in the night sky with the naked eye alone, even under ideal conditions (clear, night sky - without light pollution). However, the overall effect of the millions of heavenly bodies lighting up the night is truly awe-inspiring.
During the daytime, (when our side of the planet is facing the sun), the light that we catch from the sun is so intense in comparison to starlight, that it scatters through the earth's atmosphere.
Why Is The Sky Blue?
When we see a blue sky, we are witnessing the effects of sunlight dispersing through the atmosphere. The sun emits white light - which contains the full spectrum of colours - but our planet's atmosphere absorbs all those other colours, allowing only brilliant blue to reach us.
Why Can't We See The Stars During the Day?
The amount of light that reaches us from any of the stars is minuscule (other than from our own star, the sun). This is because of the enormous distances that the light has to travel in order to reach us.
Most of the light energy that each star emits is dispersed in other directions across space before it even reaches us.
So, it is quite hard to make out many of the multitude of stars in the night sky with the naked eye alone, even under ideal conditions (clear, night sky - without light pollution). However, the overall effect of the millions of heavenly bodies lighting up the night is truly awe-inspiring.
During the daytime, (when our side of the planet is facing the sun), the light that we catch from the sun is so intense in comparison to starlight, that it scatters through the earth's atmosphere.
Why Is The Sky Blue?
When we see a blue sky, we are witnessing the effects of sunlight dispersing through the atmosphere. The sun emits white light - which contains the full spectrum of colours - but our planet's atmosphere absorbs all those other colours, allowing only brilliant blue to reach us.
