There\u2019s a common conception that just as the Sun can only be seen in daylight hours, the Moon only comes out at night.<\/p>
But Earth\u2019s rotation means that the Moon must be above the horizon for 12 hours out of every 24, regardless of the length of the night.<\/p>
As such, the Moon is often somewhere in the daylit sky. Whether we see it is down to two things \u2013 its altitude in the sky and its phase.<\/p>
More<\/strong> Read our guide Why can we see the Moon during the day<\/a>, or Why does the Moon’s appearance change?<\/a><\/em><\/p> \u2018Twinkle, twinkle, little star\u2019 has a lot to answer for. Stars often appear to flicker in the night sky, but this has nothing to do with the star and everything to do with our turbulent atmosphere. This has led many people to wonder why stars twinkle<\/a>.<\/p> Once it reaches Earth, starlight is reflected, bent and contorted by this turbulence, until it reaches your eye. You can record this effect by photographing the changing colours of a twinkling star<\/a>.<\/p> Viewed from space, stars would not twinkle at all.<\/p> More<\/strong> Read our beginner’s guide to stars<\/a> or find out more about the effects of the atmosphere with our guide to astronomical seeing<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> Not so. Earth is actually closest to the Sun during the northern hemisphere\u2019s winter.<\/p> The real reason is due to Earth\u2019s 23.5\u00ba axial tilt, which means each hemisphere gets varying durations of sunlight over the year.<\/p> More<\/strong> Find out more in our guide How does Earth orbit the Sun?<\/a> or our beginner’s guide to the ecliptic<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> Polaris is located next to the north celestial pole, which the point around which the stars of the Northern Hemisphere appear to rotate. This is why it’s called the North Star.<\/p> Yet Polaris’s status as the North Star is merely a temporary one, a result of Earth wobbling on its axis as it spins.<\/p> The change is about 1\u00ba every 72 years, with a full cycle taking around 26,000 years.<\/p> In 3,000 BC the pole star was Thuban in Draco, but in 2,000 years time it will be Errai in Cepheus.<\/p> More<\/strong> Learn how to find Polaris with our guide How to star hop<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> Polaris is certainly among the most famous, being star closest to the north celestial pole, but this usefulness does not make it the brightest in the sky.<\/p> Spend an evening outside and it will become obvious that this honour falls to Sirius, in the constellation of Canis Major.<\/p> More<\/strong> Read our beginner’s guide to stellar magnitudes<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> If you have ever wished upon a star, you may be shocked to learn it wasn\u2019t a star at all.<\/p> The idea that shooting stars are literally stars streaking across the sky might be one of the most popular of all myths in astronomy.<\/p> When you see a shooting star, you’re actually witnessing the bright flare of piece of debris, likely to be no bigger than a grain of sand, burning up in our atmosphere.<\/p> They are properly known as meteors. If a fragment makes it to Earth\u2019s surface, it is called a meteorite.<\/p> Find out what causes a meteor shower<\/a> or and when the next meteor shower<\/a> is taking place.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> While telescopes can make the denizens of the night sky appear bigger, this isn\u2019t their primary purpose.<\/p> Their main function is gather light, using a lens or mirror depending on the design, so that we can see objects too dim to view with the naked eye.<\/p> More<\/strong> Learn about telescope stats<\/a> and how to understand the limits of your telescope<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> The phrase \u2018dark side of the Moon\u2019 is often and erroneously used to refer to the Moon\u2019s far side, which means something subtly different.<\/p> The far side is the hemisphere of the Moon permanently turned away from Earth, but calling it the dark side implies is never sees any sunlight, which is not the case.<\/p> The lunar far side goes through the same cycle of phases as we see on the near side from Earth, with the only period it can technically be called the dark sidebeing the time of full Moon.<\/p> More<\/strong> Find out what’s on the far side of the Moon<\/a> or read Patrick Moore’s guide to observing the Moon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>Stars twinkle<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Perhaps](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/04\/what-are-diffraction-spikes-f32dd35.jpg\" "\\"Diffraction")
Earth’s distance from the Sun causes seasons<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/Earth-orbit-Sun-7bfd38c.jpg\" "\\"A")
The North Star never changes<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Polaris,](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/Stellar-magnitude-7ea5ecf.jpg\" "\\"Magnitude")
The North Star is the brightest in the sky<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Sirius](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/GettyImages-178291338-33b6dd8-e1597652081588.jpg\" "\\"Sirius")
Shooting stars are stars<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Shooting](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/07\/Perseid-meteor-f1f3769.jpg\" "\\"A")
Telescopes only magnify celestial objects<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Telescope](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/GettyImages-1162208624-bde2492-e1610963270557.jpg\" "\\"Telescope")
There’s a dark side of the Moon<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Crescent](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/02\/18_NickJackson_CrescentMoon-2049d5e.jpg\" "\\"Crescent")