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What is the difference between the Sun and the Moon?

The sun and the moon are probably the two most prominent features of Earth's sky. They affect our daily life in significant ways, but are very different in their characteristics and effects on the solar system and our planet.

Sun and Moon form part of our solar system. There are some differences between them although they belong to the solar system. The Sun is a star and it gives out heat and light of its own. The sun is large, the moon is small. The sun is gaseous, the moon is solid. The sun shines by its own nuclear fusion, whereas the moon shines only by the reflected light of the sun (and to a much lesser extent) of the stars. The moon orbits the earth, whereas the sun orbits the galaxy. 

The Sun is in the center of the solar system with nine planets moving round it. The light given by the Sun is responsible for life in this earth. It is believed that one half of the earth is always facing the sun. The lighted half of the earth experiences day while the other half is in the earth’s shadow and it experiences night.

The planets and the Moon do not give out light of their own. They can be seen because they reflect the light from the sun. On the other hand Moon rotates around the Earth. It is a satellite of the Earth. The moon is in fact a natural satellite of the earth. The moon’s orbit around the earth is not a perfect circle. It is wobbly but very regular.

As the Moon moves around the Earth, we see different parts of the Moon’s lighted surface. This is why the moon’s shape appears to change. Since the moon takes about a month to move around the Earth, these changes in the moon’s shape repeat every month and are called as the different phases of the moon.

The shape of the moon appears to change from night to night whereas the shape of the sun does not appear to change from day after day. This is one of the major differences between the sun and the moon. Moon is a satellite that is different from man-made satellite. It does not collect information unlike the man-made satellite. Hence the moon is not an artificial but a natural satellite of the earth.