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Credit & Copyright: Laurent Laveder
Explanation:
Also known as the Moon's "ashen glow" or
"the old Moon in the new Moon's arms",
Earthshine is
Earthlight reflected from the Moon's night side.
This dramatic image
of Earthshine and a young crescent
Moon was taken by
astrophotographer and
APOD translator
Laurent Laveder from the remote
Pic du
Midi Observatory on planet Earth.
But the
view
from the Moon would have been stunning too.
When the Moon appears in Earth's sky as a slender crescent,
a dazzlingly bright, nearly full Earth would be seen
from the lunar surface.
The Earth's brightness, due to reflected sunlight,
is strongly influenced by cloud cover and
recent studies
of Earthshine indicate that it is more pronounced
during April and May.
A description of Earthshine, in
terms of sunlight reflected by Earth's oceans in turn illuminating
the Moon's dark surface, was written 500 years ago by
Leonardo
da Vinci.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon
Publications with words: Moon
See also:
- APOD: 2026 August 25 Á Earths Shadow Visualized with Lunar Eclipses
- APOD: 2026 May 11 Á Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
- APOD: 2026 May 9 Á Messier Craters in Stereo
- APOD: 2026 April 15 Á The ISS Transits the Moon
- APOD: 2026 April 11 Á Artemis II: Flight Day 6
- The Bay of Rainbows
- Earthset from Orion