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When we consider why stars are hidden from view in the daytime, the Sun's brightness is a key factor. The Sun is incredibly bright compared to the other stars. This is because it's much closer to Earth, and consequently, its light dominates the daytime sky. Imagine walking into a room with a blinding light; it becomes difficult to see any other light sources, and it's the same concept with the Sun outshining the stars.

During the day, the light coming from the Sun is so intense that the stars, which are light years away and much less luminous, simply cannot compete. They are still in the sky, but our eyes cannot detect them because of the Sun's overpowering brightness. This vast difference in apparent brightness makes daytime star gazing a challenge.

The atmosphere plays a significant role in shaping our sky's appearance. During the day, the sunlight interacts with the Earth's atmosphere in a process called scattering. This scattering occurs when the light is absorbed by air molecules and small particles and then emitted in various directions.

Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is more easily scattered than other colors. That's why we see a blue sky during the day. This scattering effect disperses the sunlight so much that it creates a veil of brightness across the sky, further diminishing our ability to see the stars.

Moreover, this scattering of light also leads to the phenomena of sunrise and sunset colors. At dawn and dusk, the light must travel through more of the Earth's atmosphere, which scatters more light and leaves behind hues of reds, oranges, and pinks. Still, these vibrant times of day do not offer a dark enough backdrop to see the stars as we do at night.

The human eye is remarkably adaptable to different levels of light, functioning effectively in both bright sunlight and the dark of night. This adaptability, however, works against us when trying to spot stars during the day. In bright conditions, the pupils of our eyes contract to let in less light. This is a protective mechanism to prevent damage to our retinas.

Additionally, our eyes use two types of cells for vision: rods and cones. The rods help us see in low light, and the cones are for color vision and detailed sight in brighter light. During the day, our eyes rely more on cones and the sensitivity of our rods is reduced, making it hard to pick up the faint light coming from distant stars.

Only under special conditions, like during a solar eclipse when the moon covers the Sun and significantly dims the sky, our eyes can adjust enough to allow the visibility of some brighter stars and planets. Understanding this sensitivity is essential to grasp why our day-to-day visual experience doesn't include the starlight that's ever-present above us.