When a full moon occurs if there were people on the moon would they see a full Earth'?

Answer 1

No, they would normally see a "new Earth" (dark). The moon shines by light reflected from the sun. The moon has phases because as it orbits the earth the side that is toward us is sometimes completely in daylight (full moon) sometimes completely in night (new moon) and sometimes partly one and partly the other (assorted phases). During the full moon the Sun, Earth and Moon are all lined up in a straight line with the Earth in the middle. The near side of the moon is facing the earth *and* the sun so it is all lit up. The side of the earth which is facing the moon though is facing away from the sun, thus it is night time and the earth would look dark to people on the moon. At the time of the new moon the situation is exactly reversed and then the moon would see a full earth. Here is more: * Because the Earth is between the sun and the moon for a full moon (i.e. the moon is "behind" the Earth), occasionally the Earth's shadow will fall across the moon, creating a "lunar eclipse". Similarly, it is during a "new moon", with the moon between the sun and Earth, that we get a "solar eclipse", the moon's shadow blocking the Sun. What may confuse some is that the moon orbits the Earth just once every 28 days. Its apparent motion on a daily basis is just us spinning around on the Earth beneath it. * A lunar eclipse here on Earth means that someone on the Moon would see the Earth partially or completely blocking the Sun, as we do in solar eclipses. * The far side (back) of the Moon is never visible from Earth, and conversely the Earth can never be seen from there.