earthshine

[ urth-shahyn ]

/ ˈɜrθˌʃaɪn /

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noun Astronomy.

the faint illumination of the part of the moon not illuminated by sunlight, as during a crescent phase, caused by the reflection of light from the earth.

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Also called earthlight.

Origin of earthshine

First recorded in 1825–35; earth + shine¹

Words nearby earthshine

earth return, earthrise, earth science, Earthshaker, earthshaking, earthshine, earth sign, earth smoke, earthstar, earth station, earth tone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use earthshine in a sentence

Using ground-based instruments at Big Bear, Goode and his colleagues measured earthshine — the light that reflects off our planet, to the moon and then back to Earth — from 1998 to 2017.
Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend|Sid Perkins|October 14, 2021|Science News
Because earthshine is most easily gauged when the moon is a slim crescent and the weather is clear, the team collected a mere 801 data points during those 20 years, Goode and his colleagues report.
Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend|Sid Perkins|October 14, 2021|Science News
Whether the decline in earthshine is a short-term blip or yet another ominous sign for Earth’s climate is up in the air, scientists suggest.
Earth is reflecting less light. It’s not clear if that’s a trend|Sid Perkins|October 14, 2021|Science News
And now day begins to decline; and your globe, which never sets to us, will soon shed her pale earthshine over the landscape.
The Heroine|Eaton Stannard Barrett

The ancients were greatly exercised in their minds to account for this "earthlight," or "earthshine," as it is also called.
Astronomy of To-day|Cecil G. Dolmage
One might have supposed that Fanny's influence had added a slim crescent of silvery light to her habitual earthshine.
Memoirs of a Midget|Walter de la Mare

British Dictionary definitions for earthshine

earthshine

earthlight

/ (ˈɜːθˌʃaɪn) /

noun

the ashen light reflected from the earth, which illuminates the new moon when it is not receiving light directly from the sun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012