question: Why is it we see the moon at daytime occasionally?
comment: The Moon does not stay on the side of the Earth opposite the Sun. It orbits the Earth, making a complete circle every 28 days. This means that it spends half its time on the same side of Earth as the Sun, making it visible for at least part of the daytime.
passages: Section::::Visual presentation.:The Moon.
  
  Earth's Moon is a grey disc in the sky with cratering visible to the naked eye. It spans, depending on its exact location, 29-33 arcminutes - which is about the size of a thumbnail at arm's length, and is readily identified. Over 27.3 days, the moon goes through a full cycle of lunar phases. People can generally identify phases within a few days by looking at the moon. Unlike stars and most planets, the light reflected from the moon is bright enough to be seen during the day. (Venus can sometimes be seen even after sunrise.)
   Many almanacs list full moons not only by date, but also by their exact time, usually in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Typical monthly calendars that include lunar phases may be offset by one day when prepared for a different time zone.
  
  Full moon is generally a suboptimal time for astronomical observation of the Moon because shadows vanish. It is a poor time for other observations because the bright sunlight reflected by the Moon, amplified by the opposition surge, then outshines many stars.
   The Moon's highest altitude at culmination varies by its phase and time of year. The full moon is highest in the sky during winter (for each hemisphere). The 18.61-year nodal cycle has an influence on lunar standstill. When the ascending node of the lunar orbit is in the vernal equinox, the lunar declination can reach up to plus or minus 28° each month. This means the Moon can pass overhead if viewed from latitudes up to 28° north or south (of the Equator), instead of only 18°. The orientation of the Moon's crescent also depends on the latitude of the viewing location; an observer in the tropics can see a smile-shaped crescent Moon. The Moon is visible for two weeks every 27.3 days at the North and South Poles. Zooplankton in the Arctic use moonlight when the Sun is below the horizon for months on end.
   Because of the inclination of the Moon's orbit with respect to the Earth's equator, the Moon is above the horizon at the North and South Pole for almost two weeks every month, even though the Sun is below the horizon for six months at a time. The period from moonrise to moonrise at the poles is a tropical month, about 27.3 days, quite close to the sidereal period. When the Sun is the furthest below the horizon (winter solstice), the Moon will be full when it is at its highest point. When the Moon is in Gemini it will be above the horizon at the North Pole, and when it is in Sagittarius it will be up at the South Pole.
   The Moon's atmosphere is negligibly thin, essentially vacuum, so its sky is always black, as in the case of Mercury. However, the Sun is so bright that it is impossible to see stars during the daytime, unless the observer is well shielded from sunlight (direct or reflected from the ground). The Moon has a southern polar star, δ Doradus, a magnitude 4.34 star. It is better aligned than Earth's Polaris (α Ursae Minoris), but much fainter.
  
  Section::::The Moon.:The Sun from the Moon.
   Other planets and natural satellites that rotate relative to a luminous primary body, such as a local star, also experience daytime of some sort, but this article primarily discusses daytime on Earth.
  
  Section::::Characteristics.
  
  Approximately half of the Earth is illuminated at any time by the Sun. The area subjected to direct illumination is almost exactly half the planet; but because of atmospheric and other effects that extend the reach of indirect illumination, the area of the planet covered by either direct or indirect illumination amounts to slightly more than half the surface.
   A full moon is often thought of as an event of a full night's duration. This is somewhat misleading because its phase seen from Earth continuously waxes or wanes (though much too slowly to notice in real time with the naked eye). By definition, its maximum illumination occurs at the moment waxing stops. For any given location, about half of these maximum full moons may be visible, while the other half occurs during the day, when the full moon is below the horizon.
   Most historical calendars are lunisolar. The 7th-century Islamic calendar is an exceptional example of a purely lunar calendar. Months are traditionally determined by the visual sighting of the hilal, or earliest crescent moon, over the horizon.
  
  Section::::In culture.:Lunacy.
   The Moon is a very commonly observed astronomical object, especially by amateur astronomers and skygazers. This is due to several reasons: the Moon is the brightest object in the night sky, the Moon is the largest object in the night sky, and the Moon has long been significant in many cultures, such as being the basis for many calendars. The Moon also does not require any kind of telescope or binoculars to see effectively, making it extremely convenient and common for people to observe.
   As a result, daylight at a given point on the Moon would last approximately two weeks from beginning to end, followed by approximately two weeks of night.
  
  Section::::Alternate usage.
  
  BULLET::::- The term "lunar day" may also refer to the period between moonrises or high moon in a particular location on Earth. This period is typically about 50 minutes longer than a 24-hour Earth day, as the Moon orbits the Earth in the same direction as the Earth's axial rotation.
   In effect, this means that the "tropical year" on the Moon is only 347 days long. This is called the draconic year or eclipse year. The "seasons" on the Moon fit into this period. For about half of this draconic year, the Sun is north of the lunar equator (but at most 1.543°), and for the other half, it is south of the lunar equator. Obviously, the effect of these seasons is minor compared to the difference between lunar night and lunar day. At the lunar poles, instead of usual lunar days and nights of about 15 Earth days, the Sun will be "up" for 173 days as it will be "down"; polar sunrise and sunset takes 18 days each year. "Up" here means that the centre of the Sun is above the horizon. Lunar polar sunrises and sunsets occur around the time of eclipses (solar or lunar). For example, at the Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016, the Moon was near its descending node, and the Sun was near the point in the sky where the equator of the Moon crosses the ecliptic. When the Sun reaches that point, the centre of the Sun sets at the lunar north pole and rises at the lunar south pole.
   At a major lunar standstill, the Moon's range of declination, and consequently its range of azimuth at moonrise and moonset, reaches a maximum. As a result, viewed from the middle latitudes, the Moon's altitude at upper culmination (the daily moment when the object appears to contact the observer's meridian) changes in just two weeks – from highest to lowest above the horizon due north or south, depending on the observer's hemisphere. Similarly, its azimuth at moonrise changes from northeast to southeast and at moonset from northwest to southwest. Solar eclipses at ascending node occurs in March, solar eclipses at descending node occurs in September. Lunar eclipses at descending node occurs in March, lunar eclipses at ascending node occurs in September.
   Due to the high lunar standstill, the harvest and hunter's moons of 2007 were special because the time difference between moonrises on successive evenings was much shorter than average. The Moon rose about 30 minutes later from one night to the next, as seen from about 40° N or S latitude (because the full moon of September 2007 rose in the northeast rather than in the east). Hence, no long period of darkness occurred between sunset and moonrise for several days after the full moon, thus lengthening the time in the evening when enough twilight and moonlight to work to get the harvest in.
   In Hinduism, most festivals are celebrated on auspicious days. Many of the Hindu festivals are celebrated on days with a full moon at night.
  
  Different parts of India celebrate the same day with different names, as listed below:
  
  BULLET::::1. Chaitra Purnima – Gudi Padua, Yugadi, Ugadi, Hanuman Jayanti (April 15, 2014)
  
  BULLET::::2. Vaishakh Purnima – Narasimh Jayanti, Buddha Jayanthi (May 14, 2014)
  
  BULLET::::3. Jyeshtha Purnima – Vat Savitri Vrat Vat Purnima (June 8, 2014)
  
  BULLET::::4. Guru Purnima – the full moon of the Ashadh month
  
  BULLET::::5. Vyas Purnima – important day for starting education and honoring teachers
   The following blue moons occur between 2009 and 2021. These dates use UTC as the timezone; exact dates vary with different timezones.
  
  Section::::Blue moons between 2009 and 2021.:Seasonal.
  
  Using the "Maine Farmers' Almanac" definition of blue moon (meaning the third full moon in a season of four full moons, but referenced to astronomical rather than equal seasons), blue moons have occurred or will occur on:
  
  BULLET::::- November 21, 2010
  
  BULLET::::- August 20, 2013
  
  BULLET::::- May 21, 2016
  
  BULLET::::- May 18, 2019
  
  BULLET::::- August 22, 2021
  
  Section::::Blue moons between 2009 and 2021.:Calendar.
   BULLET::::- The "Maine Farmers' Almanac" called the third full moon in a season that had four the "blue moon".
   At higher latitudes, there will be a period of at least one day each month when the Moon does not rise, but there will also be a period of at least one day each month when the Moon does not set. This is similar to the seasonal behaviour of the Sun, but with a period of 27.2 days instead of 365 days. Note that a point on the Moon can actually be visible when it is about 34 arc minutes below the horizon, due to atmospheric refraction.
   Many Muslims insist on the local physical sighting of the moon to mark the beginning of Ramadan, but others use the calculated time of the new moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration to determine the start of the month. Since the new moon is not in the same state at the same time globally, the beginning and ending dates of Ramadan depend on what lunar sightings are received in each respective location. As a result, Ramadan dates vary in different countries, but usually only by a day. This is due to the cycle of the moon. The moon travels the same path all year round and when the moon is seen in the east, it is then seen traveling towards the west. All the countries around the world see the moon within a 24-hour period once spotted by one country in the east.
   Section::::Midnight sun.
  
  In places which experience the midnight sun (polar day), daytime may extend beyond one 24 hour period and could even extend to months.
  
  Section::::Extraterrestrial bodies.
  
  Besides a stellar day on Earth, determined to be 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds, there are related such days for bodies in the Solar System other than the Earth. For example:
  
  BULLET::::- Mercury: 58 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes
  
  BULLET::::- Venus: 243 days
  
  BULLET::::- Earth’s Moon: 27 days, 7 hours, 12 minutes
  
  BULLET::::- Mars: 1 day, 37 minutes
  
  BULLET::::- Ceres: 9 hours, 4 minutes
  
  BULLET::::- Jupiter: 9 hours, 56 minutes
   All full moons rise around the time of sunset. Since the Moon moves eastward among the stars faster than the Sun, lunar culmination is delayed by about 50.47 minutes (on average) each day, thus causing moonrise to occur later each day.
   Dark moon
  
  The term dark moon should describe the Moon during the period when the Moon is not reflecting direct sunlight towards Earth, but is now being used to define the last visible crescent of a waning Moon. Because of this, the duration of a dark moon varies between 1.5 and 3.5 days, depending on its ecliptic latitude. The period without direct sunlight being reflected from the Moon is from 21 to 26 hours.
   Section::::Origins.
  
  The Sun and Moon were considered the rulers of day, and night, in accordance with the doctrine of astrology of sect: "diurnal" (or daytime) planets, which were ruled by the Sun, and "nocturnal" (or nighttime) planets, which were ruled by the Moon.
  
  The Sun was also the "sect" ruler—or the "luminary of sect" for all charts of events and individuals born in the daytime, when the Sun was over the horizon; and the Moon was the "sect" ruler or "luminary of sect" for night charts, when the Sun was below the horizon.
   In Shona, Middle-Eastern, and European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon first becomes visible, at evening, after conjunction with the Sun one or two days before that evening ("e.g.", in the Islamic calendar). In ancient Egypt the lunar month began on the day when the waning moon could no longer be seen just before sunrise. Others run from full moon to full moon.
   The moon's orbit is not in the same plane as the Earth's orbit around the sun, but crosses it in two places. The moon crosses the ecliptic plane twice a month, once when it goes up above the plane, and again 15 or so days later when it goes back down below the ecliptic. These two locations are the ascending and descending lunar nodes. Solar and lunar eclipses will occur only when the moon is positioned near one of these nodes, because at other times the moon is either too high or too low for an eclipse to be noticed from earth. Some astronomical clocks keep track of the position of the lunar nodes with a long pointer that crosses the dial. This so-called dragon hand makes one complete rotation around the ecliptic dial every 19 years. When the dragon hand and the new moon coincide, the moon is on the same plane as the earth and sun, and so there is every chance that an eclipse will be visible from somewhere on earth.
   In the region within either polar circle, the variation in daylight hours is so extreme that part of summer sees a period without night intervening between consecutive days, while part of winter sees a period without daytime intervening between consecutive nights.
  
  Section::::On other celestial bodies.
  
presuppositions: The moon should only appear when the Sun is not visible. The moon should only appear at night.
corrections: The moon spends half of its time on the same side of Earth as the Sun. The moon spends half its time on the same side of the Earth as the Sun.
raw_presuppositions: The moon should only appear when the Sun is not visible. The moon should only appear at night.
raw_corrections: The moon spends half of its time on the same side of Earth as the Sun. The moon spends half its time on the same side of the Earth as the Sun.