the sun is bright, but space is dark, surely the light would bounce off the planets, like earth and create a sort of

Question: the sun is bright, but space is dark, surely the light would bounce off the planets, like earth and create a sort of light area around them?
- Keywords:
  light,
  planet,
  solar
Asked by FelicityP to Helen, Hugh, Julian on 20 Nov 2014.
- Julian Onions answered on 20 Nov 2014:
  
  That is true, and it sort of happens. It’s called the zodiacal light, and is the sun reflected. It annoys astronomers who want a really dark sky, so they have to avoid this area sometimes if they are looking at really faint objects.
  
  However remember you can only see light if it reflects off things, and in space there isn’t a lot to reflect from.
- Helen Johnson answered on 21 Nov 2014:
  
  Hey Felicity 🙂 Julian is right, the only reason we see planets at all is because of the light which reflects off their surface. Different materials reflect light by different amounts, and that makes certain objects easier to see than others. I thought this was a really great illustration: http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/10/17/navcams-shades-of-grey/ (scroll down to where you see the Earth compared to comet 67P)
  
  Hope to talk with you in the live chat tomorrow!

Question: the sun is bright, but space is dark, surely the light would bounce off the planets, like earth and create a sort of light area around them?