Why does the moon shine at night?
For grown-ups: the science
The moon looks bright at night because it catches the sun's light and sends it down to Earth.
The moon doesn't produce its own light—it shines because it reflects sunlight. It's actually glowing during the day too, but the bright blue sky makes it hard to notice. How the moon looks changes depending on the positions of the sun, Earth, and moon, as well as its phases.
What about...?
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Transcript
Look at that glowing moon hanging in the dark night sky... why does it shine so brightly?
The moon doesn't glow all by itself. It's getting light from the sun.
Sunlight hits the moon, and some of it travels all the way to Earth. That light is what makes the moon look bright to us.
The moon shines in the daytime too, but the bright sky makes it hard to spot. At night the sky is dark, so we can see it clearly.
The moon shines bright because it's reflecting the sun's light.