Why is space dark?
Space is dark because it has no air to spread the sunlight around.
Pip’s answer
- Space is dark because it has no air to spread the sunlight around.
- On Earth, air bounces light everywhere, so our daytime sky looks bright.
- In space, light just zooms straight by, so all around looks black.
- Ooh, astronauts can see the bright sun and a black sky at once!
For grown-ups
On Earth, the atmosphere scatters sunlight in every direction, filling the sky with light. Space has almost no air to scatter light, so even with the sun shining, the background looks black unless light travels directly into your eyes from a star or object.
Ask your child: Do you think the sky on the moon is blue or black?
More questions kids ask
- 🌤️Why is the sky blue?
- 🌙Why does it get dark at night?
- ⭐Why do stars only come out at night?
- ⭐Why do stars twinkle?
- 🌓Why does the moon change shape?
- 🌕Why doesn’t the moon fall down?
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