When can I see Earthshine?<\/h2>\n
Weather permitting, you can see Earthshine this evening, 21 May<\/strong>, after sunset (8:54pm BST in London).<\/p>\n Earthshine is visible in the mornings a few days before the new Moon, and in the evenings a few days after the new Moon. You might have already glimpsed it before sunrise on 17 May during the waning crescent phase, but if you didn\u2019t fancy dragging yourself out of bed at that hour, we have another chance during the waxing<\/em> crescent Moon phase.<\/p>\n Here are the next opportunities to see Earthshine:<\/p>\n \u201cTake a look on the evening of the 23 May, and you will be able to see the crescent Moon between the bright planet Venus & the star Pollux, with the red planet Mars just to the left of the pair,\u201d advises Dr Darren Baskill<\/a>, astronomy lecturer at the University of Sussex.<\/p>\n The phenomenon is most visible during the waxing or waning crescent phase, because the illuminated portion of the Moon is slimmer, allowing for a larger portion of the darkened Moon to be illuminated by Earthshine.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the ideal time of year to view, as during the spring, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun<\/a>, while at higher latitudes, lingering winter snow and ice still provide ground cover. Snow and ice reflect more light than darker-coloured vegetation and water (i.e., snow and ice have a higher albedo), so we get more apparent Earthshine.<\/p>\n While you might expect therefore, that Earthshine would be brighter during the winter months when snow and ice cover is prolific, the amount of light reaching the Arctic is significantly less, so Earthshine is not as eventful during the winter.<\/p>\n Bottom line: get out and see it while you can!<\/p>\n Earthshine appears as a soft, subtle glow on the unlit, or \u2018night\u2019 portion of the Moon during specific phases. This is when a delicate, but somehow ghostly, shape of the full Moon is nestled in the arc of the bright crescent Moon, and it\u2019s a beautiful sight for these early summer nights.<\/p>\n Also known as the Da Vinci glow, the intensity of Earthshine can vary depending on certain factors<\/a>, such as atmospheric conditions, Earth\u2019s reflectiveness, and the observer\u2019s location.<\/p>\n Just be aware of popular media saying that the \u2018dark side of the Moon is visible\u2019 as this is incorrect; the dark side of the Moon faces away from us.<\/p>\n As the Moon is tidally locked<\/a>, we\u2019ll never be able to see the dark side of the Moon from our vantage point here on Earth. Rather, we can see the unlit<\/em> portion.<\/p>\n Earthshine is also known as the Da Vinci glow, ashen glow, or rather romantically, \u2018the old Moon in the new Moon\u2019s arms\u2019. It\u2019s caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth\u2019s surface and then being reflected back onto the Moon.<\/p>\n \u201cLike all planets and moons, the Earth does not emit light \u2013 it just reflects sunlight,\u201d explains Baskill.<\/p>\n \u201cThis reflected sunlight can be seen lighting up the darker part of the Moon for a few days on either side of a new Moon, when the Moon appears as a crescent in the evening or morning sky.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Moon\u2019s crescent is caused by bright sunshine directly lighting up the Moon, while the darker part of the Moon is faintly illuminated by Earthshine \u2013 sunlight that has reflected off the Earth to gently illuminate the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n Earthshine occurs during the phase in the lunar cycle when only a thin crescent of the Moon is illuminated by direct<\/em> sunlight \u2013 either in the waxing or waning phase.<\/p>\n As for the portion of the Moon not lit by direct sunlight, this is the part we see as the ghostly glow. As we all know, light from the Sun reaches the Earth and illuminates its surface. But this isn\u2019t restricted to land masses, as it also includes clouds, oceans, and the atmosphere.<\/p>\n Some of this light<\/a> is then scattered, diffused, and reflected back into space. A portion of this reflected light travels towards the Moon, landing on its unlit portion, the lunar night side.<\/p>\n The Moon, despite having a non-reflective surface, bounces back this reflected sunlight from Earth. And it\u2019s this phenomenon, that results in a faint glow on the Moon\u2019s unlit portion, providing a subtle illumination to the otherwise dimly lit lunar surface.<\/p>\n The appearance and intensity of Earthshine are influenced by several factors, including the Earth\u2019s cloud cover, the composition of its atmosphere, and the angle of sunlight reflecting off our planet onto the Moon. These factors can cause slight variations in the brightness and colour of the Earthshine, making it different each time.<\/p>\n Earth\u2019s atmosphere, for example, plays a crucial role in shaping the appearance of Earthshine. As light from the Sun passes through the atmosphere, it undergoes scattering and absorption, with different wavelengths being affected to varying degrees. This atmospheric filtering influences the colour and intensity of the Earthshine, and it\u2019s this light that is ultimately reflected back to the Moon.<\/p>\n Different ground cover will reflect different amounts of light; for example, land reflects around 10-25 per cent, while clouds reflect around 50 per cent of light.<\/p>\n In the early 16th Century, Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci turned his thoughts to unravelling the enigma of this strange, otherworldly glow. He made detailed drawings and sketches of the Moon, and while da Vinci did not coin the term himself, these observations led to its association with his name.<\/p>\n His notebooks contained a drawing that depicts Earthshine, which is now celebrated in the Codex Leicester<\/em>,\u00a0a compilation of Da Vinci\u2019s scientific writings. Though you\u2019ll need patience if you want to read the manuscript yourself, as da Vinci recorded his observations in his characteristic mirror writing; back-to-front Italian.<\/p>\n Aside from the ever-constant wish for clear skies, no special equipment is required. If you have some to hand, while not necessary, using binoculars or a telescope can help you pick out features you wouldn\u2019t ordinarily be able to see on the Moon\u2019s surface, and observe the subtle variations in brightness more closely.<\/p>\n You might even like to try sketching the Moon on dark paper with chalk, pastels, or pencils.<\/p>\n Potentially. Researchers looking at Earth\u2019s albedo have found that warming temperatures may result in less intense Earthshine<\/a>.<\/p>\n As the oceans warmed, they found that fewer low clouds formed over the eastern Pacific Ocean, west of the Big Bear Solar Observatory in California where they were taking measurements. This reduction in cloud cover led to a slight decline in Earth\u2019s albedo (reflectiveness), subsequently affecting the intensity of the Da Vinci glow.<\/p>\n Dr Darren Baskill is an outreach officer and lecturer in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Sussex. He previously lectured at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, where he also initiated the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n Lifting the veil on the Moon\u2019s eery glow: here\u2019s when and how to see lunar Earthlight this May. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27484,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event.jpg",2400,1022,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-300x128.jpg",300,128,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-768x327.jpg",768,327,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-1024x436.jpg",800,341,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-1536x654.jpg",1536,654,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/05\/earthshine-tonight-how-to-see-mays-spectacular-moon-event-2048x872.jpg",2048,872,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Lifting the veil on the Moon\u2019s eery glow: here\u2019s when and how to see lunar Earthlight this May.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27483"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What exactly is Earthshine?<\/h2>\n
![\""Earthshine\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/Earthshine-in-the-early-morning-sky-d1a1298.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Planetshine\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What causes it?<\/h2>\n
What affects it?<\/h2>\n
Why is it called the Da Vinci glow?<\/h2>\n
![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/Earthshine-as-drawn-by-Leonardo-daVinci-316aa85.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Earthshine\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What equipment do I need to see the Da Vinci glow?<\/h2>\n
Will climate change affect our ability to see it?<\/h2>\n
About our expert<\/strong><\/h4>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"