noun
- sunlight reflected from Earth that illuminates the dark portion of the moon
Usage: astronomy
Examples
- The earthlight made the moon’s dark side faintly visible.
- Astronomers study earthlight to understand Earth’s reflectivity.
- During a crescent moon, earthlight illuminates the shadowed portion.
- The phenomenon of earthlight is also called earthshine.
- Earthlight appears as a dim glow on the moon’s unlit surface.
- Leonardo da Vinci was among the first to explain earthlight correctly.