Ashen light

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
This article has been tagged since January 2007.

The Ashen light is a glow observed on Venus somewhat similar to the phenomenon of Earthshine found on the Moon, though dimmer. It is a yellowish-brownish glow in appearance and has been observed in some large telescopes.

The ashen light was first observed by Giovanni Riccioli on 9 January 1643 and is believed to be an optical illusion by some astronomers, though others believe it to be caused by electrical storms in Venus's atmosphere. It may be the light from Venus's lit side spilling into its unlit side. It may also be that the huge amount of infrared radiation emitted because of Venus's greenhouse effect has caused a small percentage of it to convert to visible light. It may just be a distortion caused by relatively poor optics. The Ashen Light still remains mostly a mystery.