Nature Example
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The Moon
Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Click here for the license
The Moon can look very bright in the night sky, but it doesn't make its own light. It acts like a giant mirror.
The moon reflects light from the Sun down to Earth, which is why we can see it at night.
💡 Fun Facts
- The light we see from the Moon is actually secondhand sunshine!
- The different shapes of the Moon we see, called phases, are caused by the different angles we see the sunlit part of the Moon from Earth. The dark part of the moon is actually the shadow of the earth.
- Sometimes, you can even spot the pale Moon in the sky during the daytime.
- Moths evolved to use the Moon as a navigational reference point. By keeping the distant Moon at a constant angle to their eye, they can fly in a straight line.