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Question
Why does the sky seem more populated with stars one night, and the next there seem to be far fewer?
Hi,
The glare of moonlight!
As the moon waxes and wanes, it's light obscures weaker starlight, very much as sunlight masks all stars during the day.
This is very much pronounced on full moon days.
Also overcast (partly) with light cirrus clouds and on relatively late moon rises, hides the clouds as well as the stars! creating voids in the sky that endure for long, as cirrus / alto stratus clouds move very slowly.
Lastly, haze conditions are enough to mask out very dim stars.
City light and its associated glare is another factor!
Hope that suffices.
Jayen
Jayen.
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Answers by Expert:
Jayendra Upadhye
Expertise
1 - General questions on most astronomy topics such as:- Solar system, Cosmology, Black holes, Quasars, Dark matter etc. 2 - General questions about the geologies of planets. 3 - General questions about Orbits and laws governing them. 4 - General questions about rockets / spaceships 5 - General questions about stellar interiors and supernovas.
Experience
I was an askme.com expert rated no#1 for quite some time - and was top ten there by the time it closed - in Astronomy and general science categories.
Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Engg. (Electrical engg), Maharaja Sayajirao university of Baroda, Gujarat, India.
Awards and Honors
None to write about except the askme rating if it is any worth!
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