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The Earthshine Moon, is more commonly called just Earthshine, is a phenomena of the moon when the unilluminated portions of the moon is visible from the earth. This visible but dull glow is caused by sunlight which reflects off of the earth and is especially visible during the crescent phase of the moon.
A more technical description is Earthshine is the diffused reflection of sunlight reflected from the surface of the Earth and, or clouds. Earthshine is also known as the Moon′s ashen glow.
This is a phenomenon of the moon and is most visible from Earth at night, (best seen right after dusk or just before dawn) a few days before or after the day of the New Moon when the lunar phase is a thin crescent, which at this time, the entire disc of the moon is either directly or indirectly sunlit.
High contrast photography is also able to reveal the night side of the moon during a solar eclipse.
The earliest known reference to earthshine was in the sixteenth century by Leonardo da Vinci, who thought that the illumination came from reflections from the Earth′s oceans.
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