Does direct sunlight shine on the moon as it does on our tropics, or is the moon always in complete darkness as many photos would suggest?

Friar Tuck

You can only see the moon from the Earth when the sun shines on it. The altering location of the moon in relation to the sun and the earth will then give the differing shape visible to the naked eye as you can only see what is lit up by sunlight. Jul 19 02, 6:59 AM

Gnomon

The only time the moon is in complete darkness is when it is hidden behind the earth during an eclipse of the moon. This only happens two or three times a year for about an hour. All the rest of the time, exactly half the moon is in darkness and the other half is brilliantly lit by the sun. Jul 19 02, 11:20 AM

Son of The Household Cavalry

Split hairs time - as the sun is vastly bigger than the sun it means that more than 50% of the moon is always in sunlight. The fact that the distance between them is also vast means that the amount over 50% is negligible and would take a boring equation to quantify. Apologies for the nit picking but I just wanted to sound as if I knew what I was talking about for once. Jul 19 02, 11:28 AM