– How is it possible for the light from the Sun to appear as if it is coming from “above” the moon, despite the Moon being higher up from the horizon than the Sun itself?

Question

I know this probably has something to do with the curvature of the earth and the nearly inconceivable scale of our solar system, but I have a hard time making sense of it.

Could anyone help me better understand this?

In: 0

Answer 1

If you’re standing on Earth the Sun is above the Moon relatively speaking.

Where the Moon is in the horizon compared to where the sun is, is a matter of perspective.

Answer 2

Do you mean, why the entire sky “emits” light , even straight up, when the moon is higher above the horizon than the sun?

Because I have trouble even understanding the question outside of that context.

Answer 3

You’re visualizing it as if the earth were flat.

It’s not.

You have to visualize in all 3 dimensions and remove earth from the center.