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Moonlight
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==Illumination== The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the [[lunar phase]], but even the [[full moon]] typically provides only about 0.05β0.1 [[lux]] illumination.<ref name=supermoon>{{cite journal |last1=Kyba |first1=Christopher C M |last2=Mohar |first2=Andrej |last3=Posch |first3=Thomas |title=How bright is moonlight? |journal=[[Astronomy & Geophysics]] |date=1 February 2017 |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=1.31β32 |doi=10.1093/astrogeo/atx025 |url=https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article-abstract/58/1/1.31/2938119/How-bright-is-moonlight-Moonlight |access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref> When a full Moon around [[apsis|perigee]] (a "[[supermoon]]") is viewed around upper [[culmination]] from the [[tropics]], the [[illuminance]] can reach up to 0.32 lux.<ref name=supermoon/> From Earth, the [[apparent magnitude]] of the full Moon is only about {{fract|1|380,000}} that of the [[Sun]].{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} The color of moonlight, particularly around full moon, appears bluish to the [[human eye]] compared to other, brighter light sources due to the [[Purkinje effect]]. The blue or silver appearance of the light is an [[illusion]]. The Moon's [[Bond albedo]] averages 0.136,<ref name="Saari">{{cite journal |doi=10.1364/AO.47.004981 |title=Celestial body irradiance determination from an underfilled satellite radiometer: application to albedo and thermal emission measurements of the Moon using CERES |year=2008 |last1=Matthews |first1=Grant |journal=[[Applied Optics]] |volume=47 |pages=4981β93 |pmid=18806861 |issue=27 |bibcode=2008ApOpt..47.4981M |title-link=Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System}}</ref> meaning only 13.6% of incident sunlight is reflected from the lunar surface. Moonlight takes approximately 1.26 seconds to reach Earth's surface. [[light scattering by particles|Scattered]] in [[atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]], moonlight generally increases the [[sky brightness|brightness]] of the [[night sky]], reducing [[contrast (vision)|contrast]] between dimmer stars and the background. For this reason, many [[astronomer]]s usually avoid [[observational astronomy|observing]] sessions around a full moon.
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